Summarising their musical style self-deprecatingly as ‘ambitionless office disco’, Oxford indie trio Trophy Wife have nevertheless attracted much admiration for the soft-hued tones of their mellow songs. Bruxism, their debut 5-track EP, confirms their fidelity to that particular brand of spare and modest indie pop, particularly given that the band took the risk of moving out of their comfort zone by drafting in a different producer for each track.
Jody Prewett’s delicate vocals floating above the band’s characteristically glittering, shimmering textures provide an ambience befitting Bruxism’s theme: each song is an exploration of that spaced-out zone existing somewhere between being asleep and awake.
Moments in Jody’s life associated with ‘waking dreams’ are captured in the first track, ‘Canopy Shade’, and the last,‘Wolf’, produced by Yannis Philippakis, front-man of fellow Oxford band Foals.
The gentle propulsive quality of the opener, achieved by intermittent entries of subtly funky synth patterns, steers the song away from bland monotony – an ever-present danger with this style of indie pop. Perhaps the most innovative track on the EP, ‘Wolf’ is a hypnotic experiment in textural layering, and, happily, is far removed from any trace of ‘office disco’.
The title track plays with understated and simple guitar solos, but is melodically uninteresting and repetitive in comparison with ‘Sleepwalks’. The latter is produced and mixed by Ewan Pearson, the acclaimed electronic artist and DJ; its mingling tones of brass, strings and glockenspiel create a real freshness unequalled on the other tracks in this collection.
The ambience of ‘Seven Waves’ (which takes delirium as its subject) echoes the song title perfectly, its sighing backing vocals arching overthe beat, and the ebb and flow of its dynamics and instrumental layering setting up a wave-like motion.This sleep-themed release steers clear of being soporific, but still maintains a pleasurably hypnotic vibe that those familiar with Trophy Wife’s first musical ventures will appreciate and enjoy.
