If you’re searching in vain for some new-old school vibes then look no further then alternative rock trio The TripDown Project. Aiming to get you as high as the hippies in the 60’s, with music that rocks as hard as Nirvana, the band hailing from Northern England are set to release their debut album, ‘Post Modern Delay.’
‘My Condition’ opens the record in a haze of old school melody, modernized for those wanting a flavour of what it was like when flower power was the world’s motto. Like The Byrds, but on steroids, the dreamy vocals of Jojo Blythe are a perfect match for the uplifting sensation the 3-piece have created with bass and guitar working in harmony.
The elation of getting high off the first track doesn’t last long, as the throbbing bass line on ‘Body Hammer’ causes you to come crashing back down to reality. With menacing riffs laced in fuzz, this track has shades of Nirvana seeping through it, apart from the end…anyone game for techno beats?
The psychedelic ‘Hiding From My Past’, is contagious, the further you go the harder it is to let go, as the pace quickens, a far out searing solo leads to a climax of backing vocal harmonies bordering on the raw, while the melody present during the record rockets skyward on ‘The Great Kill’ with the help of an acoustic guitar making for a welcoming change, which helps distract from the wishy washy lyrics such as, “each time that you say that the guilt is free, when the innocent are dying.”
The addition of the random radio war time speeches that are peppered throughout are pointless and do not add anything, especially on the lethargic ‘Drop Down’, while the Foo Fighters esque ‘Consider It Done’ starts in a blaze of glory, the use of processed beats begin to grate and ultimately puts out the fire.
‘Chain Gang’ offers a pick me up during a brief lull, with Blythe’s velvety vocals energized and used to great effect on the kaleidoscopic ‘Heavy Motion’ which never slows down from a canter.
The light-hearted ‘Nothing But Envy’ sounds as if it should be sang at the church of funk lead by Austin Powers, whilst closer ‘Combat Nation’ employs bomb sirens to signal the end is nigh, while it may be the hardest rock track on the album, the chunky riffs do not compensate for the tacky lyrics.
Beginning in a euphoric manner ‘Post Modern Delay’ promises a time when wearing wellies in a mudfest with daisy chains is not just nostalgia, but as the album goes on a campervan ride through the valleys the wheels start to fall off as feeble lyrics and irritating calls for war cast a shadow on The TripDown Project’s craftsmanship.
