OFF Festival review – Under The Radar Magazine
However, Sunday truly starts with Trupa Trupa. There has been a lot of talk of this fast-growing Polish band hotly tripped to spread across to the West after impressing at SXSW plus Primavera, and with the imminent release of their new album Of the Sun, plus a newly announced world tour, I was eager to check them out for myself.
Drawing on aspects of post punk, ambient post rock, and just a hint of pulsing psyche, they certainly impress by carving out their own unique sonic space that doesn’t neatly fit with any current trends, driving themselves ahead rather than just riding the wind of what is currently popular. Singer Grzegorz Kwiatkowski snarls in brattish English, his acerbic vocals floating inside watery delay that will no doubt serve them well at their dates in the US and UK. I love the guy who has constructed his own cigar box guitar out of what looks like a flight case, giving the band that sharp tiny cutting tone to put your teeth on edge.
Their live sound is definitely nastier than the relevant ambient feel of their forthcoming album, and the title track really is the stand out song, with unsettling rhythm and creepy echoing vocals. Then the obligatory rise of white noise and descent into a hellish noise to finish their slot. It’s a confident execution from a group who know they are on the right path, and I can’t wait to see more of them in the near future.