Madrid’s The Kiss That Took A Trip is in fact a one man affair; M.D. Trello takes care of the computers, the programming, the vocals, and the guitars that created the fifteen-track album Electroforest released in November of this year. Trello states that he has no other aim but “to build a consistent and lasting music catalog that can speak to people fed up with quick consumption music and looking for high replay value and a more immersive and personal experience”, which is something that a lot of independent artists speak of. The mostly instrumental, experimental, post-rock album he has put together is quite different from mainstream music currently available, and makes for an intriguing listen.
Electroforest is a mostly instrumental album featuring songs meant to create an atmosphere more than anything else. The challenge in reviewing such albums is that their reception is much more subjective than your more typical songs. The kind of mood created will vary a lot more with this kind of music depending on when and where it is played, which gives it greater complexity.
The album starts with “Electroforest: entrance”, the (very) soothing nature of which makes the jarring second track, “Tidy up you pig” comes as quite a shock. Almost apologetically, the following “Champions of Delay” starts slow only to build up to the same jarring level as its predecessor. “Vanilla killer” features the first vocals in the album. This track manages to be soothing and creepy at the same time; soothing because of its instrumentation, creepy because of the heavily whispered vocals. “Greatest Loves are Secret” continues making the listener a little uncomfortable by featuring dissonant layers that might make you check if there is another song playing somewhere around you. The dissonance being limited in time and scope, it I just enough to make you sit up and notice.
“Electroforest: detour” is just as soothing as the entrance, while “Jammed Drainpipe Blues” features the same abovementioned dissonance. The electric guitar opening contrasts well with the piano that is featured quite prominently in this track. “Snowstorm” starts slow and builds up, much like a snowstorm does; the visual of the snowflakes falling captured well with the background melody played throughout with the keyboard. “Malice” and “Flower of Gas and Smoke” finish this set in a very cheeky sounding was.
“Electroforest: Tree of Lights” is just as soothing as its predecessors albeit in a more dynamic way. “Jackie o Lantern” is creepy like the season that features jack o lanterns. The electric guitar driven “Thriving Landlords” might make you wonder what this song would sound like played live by a full band and featuring lyrics. The penultimate “Amplification of the Senses” is one of the simplest tracks of the album which, well, requires an amplification of the senses attuned by now to much louder and rowdier music. The album finishes off with “Happy birthday party monster”, another track that manages to be soothing and creepy at the same time.
As another independent artist in a series of indie albums that I have been reviewing, I am once again intrigued by the combination of unicity and sameness featured in this album. All the independent artists I have read about claim that they want to create music for the sake of creating music, but sometimes they tend to push the envelope too far in their bid to be “unique”. The Kiss That Took a Trip seems to be the kind of indie artist that has struck a balance between creating something that has a distinct and strong unique flavour while remaining appealing to those of us used to more mainstream music.
Electroforest can be streamed in full on Soundcloud. More information about the band is available on their official website.
Pictures provided by Independent Music Promotions.