Tag: tr/st

Last Week’s Jams (12.11 – 12.15)

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Unfortunately, this is probably the last of Last Week’s Jams for 2023. Not because I don’t want to write about new tunes, but because, for some reason, folks just stop putting out music and let the world dwindle to a compilation of year-end lists. But, last week we still had tons of tunes to cover, with a whole lot of Austin represented. We revisited Fantastic Purple Spots, plus had brand new stuff from Big Bill, the Infinites and Fading Yellow. Got a bonus with one more Maureens track, which might be my favorite on their latest LP, and a fresh Club 8 hit that came out of nowhere. If you’re just looking for a playlist of new music, why not start here.

TR/ST Share Brand New Single

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B.Gray and I love TR/ST; we’ve loved the project since before the “u” was syntactically replaced. Today there’s a new bop from the dark electronica act, the first we’ve heard since 2019’s Destroyer LP. Weirdly, the groove on this one reminds me of a shadowy version of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face,” operating with this rhythmic pulse that almost seems like it’s got spring yet never goes all the way over. That said, there’s some mystery to the TR/ST puts into his craft, allowing all the shadows to creep into his work, making it perfect for club nights before last call. Dais Records has just signed the artist, with the promise of a new EP coming in 2024.

Have a Nice Weekend

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Hot Summer Nights is in full swing. Thanks to the Red River Cultural District for being rad. Gonna see Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Sunday. You? Should we talk movies? Maybe soundtracks?

TR/ST has shared a track off of Destroyer Pt. 2. Pre-order here. It is one of those amazing songs that can make you sink to internal depths and lift you up at the same time, that conflict of negative understones and ringing, climbing leads floating just above.

More New TR/ST

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I will have to admit upon bonus listens that the previously released track “Gone” left me a bit flat. This is more like it.

The first of a pair of 2019 releases named Destroyer is due 4/19 on Grouch via House Arrest. About this track, it is a reunion collab with Maya Postepski; she was there for the formation of the TR/ST project, co-writing and touring. I am curious of how they reached the balance here after being solo for a spell. Who brought pop sensibilities, who wanted to go darker?

TR/ST Announces Two Records

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Robert Alfons is the person behind TR/ST. His intense song craft using a dark wave environment, with sweeping changes and underlying tension, have had me hooked from the first note of the first song TR/ST released. The news is that there will be two records this year, The Destroyer — 1 and The Destroyer — 2. Read the full goings on at Billboard, but we leave you with this sample of The Destroyer — 1 titled “Gone”, hinting at a more pop-oriented album.

New Song By TR/ST – New Video By Ryan Heffington

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TR/ST, Trust, TRUST…

Nowness is presenting this video for the latest track to hit the internet for the forthcoming release by TR/ST. The video is a collaboration project, taking the track called “Destroyer” and setting it to choreography and direction by Ryan Heffington, assisted by Justin Tyler Close to create a simple, but awkward visual that becomes more engaging and emotional as you are drawn into the music and the motion. This song is also a bit of a departure for Mr. Alfons in my opinion, a piano melody rolling on and on with more present vocals instead of the cavernous synth. Even more excited about he still-unnamed LP due early next year, which is soon, so I’m even more excited.

TR/ST Flexes On You

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It was SxSW a few years back and I had just seen TR/ST for the third time. Having exchanged pleasentries side stage at Mohawk and in passing during the week, I worked up the nerve to ask for a quick portrait. His immediate response was, “No.” Magical moment. Right?

TR/ST, aka Trust, aka Robert Alfons, has captivated mindshare since I happened across “Candy Walls” six years ago. I think I listened to it seven times, over and over. It led the way for the record TRST in 2012 that still gets pretty heavy rotation in my house. It has been three years since Joyland and it is about time for a new track. And here it is. I planned on making this part of a have a nice weekend post, but it is too good. Maybe I was just tired and brain-fried when I listened to it yesterday, but damn. He tells Fader that “Bicep” is about “…the struggle between accepting and resisting shame, as well as an expression of sexual fantasies.” Perhaps, but this is brilliantly dark and danceable, just as you’d expect with that familiar edge lurking in the waveforms.

We’ll be waiting impatiently until 2018 for the new record.

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