Trummerkind - Beauty Queen (self-released)

There is a lot going on in Trummerkind’s music that I love, a lot that reminds me of some of the iconic sounds of my formative years, and songs such as “Beauty Queen” show them to be the natural successor to bands such as Siouxsie and The Banshees. Not necessarily in the specific sound of the music they make, though there is the same edge and menace, darkness and depth swirling through its core, but more in their attitude and where they sit in the musical landscape.

If the aforementioned Banshees had only the post-punk sonic building blocks to work with, Trummerkind have many more digital forces to play with and manipulate. And so, the result is music that, via swirling guitar lines and depth-charge bass lines, has one foot in the analog camp and, through their back beats and the ebb and flow of other conjured sonics, the other firmly planted in a digital realm.

But more than just the musical elements, there is a gritty realism running through the song, driven by lyrics based on solid social observation; there is also a tangible sense of adventure as if Trummerkind takes you by the hand and leads you through the byways and back alleys that make up societies dark underbelly, real or imagined.

There is also a strange blend of staccato swagger that allows the song to move forward confidently plus a heady blend of attitude and angst mixed with a sense of gothic brooding and claustrophobia intensity.

“Beauty Queen” is dark and delicious, outsider and beguiling. On reflection, just like the aforementioned dark pop icons, I’m not sure where this band fits into the musical landscape; and it is because of this, rather than despite it, that they shine so darkly.

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