The Trusted
Terrible Fight
For the geographically challenged, Southend-on-Sea is on the water, about an hour east of London. There’s a long history of great bands that have come from this county (Essex), such as Depeche Mode, Blur, Humble Pie, and one of my faves, Nothing But Thieves. Like those bands, The Trusted have been forging a mix of live instruments and keyboards, with great lyrics and melodies to create their own musical vision. Over the past 5 years, they’ve released nearly 2 dozen exceptional tracks and racked up a host of impressive gigs in their hometown, as well as London. Having grown up listening to and loving bands like Talk Talk, Depeche Mode, the Alarm, U2 and Coldplay - I’m a big believer in this band, their lyrics, their hooks and their tones. They’re one of the reasons why I love writing this blog - it’s just a matter of time until they blow up and play Hyde Park or Donington, and I’ll be pissed that I missed seeing them in a smaller club in Southend. ;) . Here’s my review of their latest track, “Terrible Fight.”
Cool intro with some harmonics, a phat pad, and a bright arpeggiated keyboard riff. Ok, I know we’re in the key of A, but where are we going? First half of the first verse is basically Tom (vocals) and nice synth bass line, setting up what has to be a story about a romance gone horribly wrong. Nice. Love how this is different from the intro. Then, the full band comes in to help him finish off the verse with a tight kick & bass pattern and solid riff with beautifully buzzy tones (Dale, I believe?). Really dig the kick pattern from Dave - the back end of the phrase is not what I expected, and I love how Finn (bass) doesn’t brag with his line - he’s got the option to fill in more but he keeps it true to the needs of the song.
First chorus is pumped up - but they do so with the addition of keys and loops in the back, keeping the drums and string tones sparse so we can focus on the lyrics and melody - smart choice. It’s followed up by a monster hook on the guitar as the band comes back in full tilt. Love the mix here. The guitars have that bite, the low end is massive and the pads give it a nice rounded tone. With the second verse, they continue to pump up the intensity by expanding on the musical themes of the back half of the first verse. For you production nerds, notice how the angst in the lyrics matches not only Tom’s delivery, but the EQ on his voice - there’s just the right amount of crunch.
Second chorus comes in full band and it’s a great choice. We already know the hook and we’re singing along. Would love to see this live at @chinnerys_southend. To keep it interesting, they also do a great job of extending the 2nd chorus on the back end with some different chords and expansion of the melody and lyrics. (By the way, love the line - “do the church bells turn you on?” Wow, what kind of wacko is THAT person if that’s true?!) The bridge is a nice breakdown and breather - and the masochist lyrics go well with Dave’s snare fill that amps it all back up to bring us to a double-time shout chorus at the end.
If you take the time to pick this track apart, instrument by instrument and section by section, I hope you’ll gain an appreciation for how much attention they pay to their craft. There’s a host of choices they could have made to dumb this down and keep it at 3:00, but thankfully they don’t. They take some great chances with the extended second chorus, the bridge and outro that show you they are not happy with mediocrity. That’s the difference between a band that never leaves their hometown, and one that gets on BBC and tours - which they do.
Please click this link to read a review on “Arkansas”, one of my favorite tracks from 2022, and click here to read an interview we did them them. I really hope to catch them live someday. Great work Lads, as always!