Words by Dominic Rose
A feverish tremolo re-introduces the sound of Traams & immediately I am alive - ‘The Light At Night’ being their first single since 2020, TRAAMS bring the body to the road & suddenly this broken asphalt becomes a racetrack. Bookended by the serenity of an ambient outro and a melodic, haunted opening that finds only unsteady resolution in a passage of dominant chords [ending on a non diatonic major7 for theory nerds] - this is a well crafted piece of adrenaline thumping kraut-wave.
Photo Credit: Steve Gullick
Befitting the tonal shriek of guitars & gyrating synth arps – that quickly recalls San Fran psych-heads Moon Duo – TRAAMS are joined by the achingly familiar voice of Joe Casey [singer of Detroit’s Protomartyr] & the song rewards us all for it. The coil of angst buried inside Joe Casey’s performance elevates the trajectory of this song into something heart-rending & highly re-listenable. An introvert's delight.
Making use of a rich sonic palette this song offers a cathartic split between both the guitar & drawl of American punk & the cosmic depth of a sparkling, electronic shoegaze. The opening, as TRAAMS singer Stuart Hopkins laments the price of inner conflict, finds some of the most glorious swirls of textural gold in its repeated vocal lines & synth programing - all to the effect of a great, dilapidated machine reawakening it's own hard drive & rebooting for the upcoming peregrination. Similar to the new TRAAMS timeline, then.
As an over-professed lover of all incarnations of ‘kraut’ rock & electronic symphonia this rejuvenation of style & sound for TRAAMS is something I personally relish. Their album will be released on the 22nd of July. Let’s hope for their own ‘Relatives In Descent’.
Check out the video below, Directed By Charlotte Gosch & Lee Kiera (IDLES):
TRAAMS on tour:
APR
14 – Portsmouth, The Loft
15 – Prince Albert, Brighton +
16 – Islington Assembly Hall, London +
17 – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds +
29 – The Trades Club, Hebden Bridge +
30 – Stag & Dagger, Edinburgh
MAY
1 – Stag & Dagger, Glasgow
JUL
10 - Bruges, BE, Cactus Fesitval
OCT
12 - Brighton, Patterns*
13 - London, The Garage*
14 - Bristol, Strange Brew*
15 - Birmingham, Future Days*
27 - Groningen, NL, Vera
28 - Deventer, NL, Burgerweeshuis
29 - Amsterdam, NL, London Calling
NOV
11 - Manchester, YES (Basement)*
12 - Leeds, Brudenell Social Club*
+ supporting Protomartyr
* support from Public Body
Tickets are available HERE
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