The Polish quartet reaches new hypnotic heights…

In the vague realm of ‚alternative music,’ it can be hard to make an original statement when your predecessors often fall under the banner of icons. This is notably true with guitar-led groups, whose every use of a delay pedal will cause discussions on anything from The Velvet Underground to Dinosaur Jr. It’s a messy and often backward-looking business, but poses an important question – how do you reinvent the guitar?

It’s nay impossible, but approach can mean hellova lot, Gdansk based quartet Trupa Trupa comfortably mastering a vibe all their own. As we learned from our interview earlier this summer, the quartet’s marriage of political themes and dark, weaving textures make for one heady brew. No better has this been seen than on Trupa’s latest full length ‚Of the Sun,’ the exhilarating new chapter from these unexpected up-and-comers.

Over its twelve tracks, the listener is taken down the proverbial rabbit hole as Grzegorz Kwiatkowski’s hypnotic and repetitive lyrical attack lulls you along. This isn’t an album that grabs you by the collar, but rather builds tension and release as it lures you through the dark thickets of your mind. With standout moments such as the swaggering ‚Another Day,’ the band show their talent for producing driven psych-rock with a sing-a-long moment to boot.

On the titular track, piano and non-diegetic sounds are brought to the fore to create a haunted mess akin to a lost ‚Kid A’ deep cut. Later the whacked-out energy of ‚Turn’ ups the ante, Wojciech Juchniewicz’s frantic bassline adding some real post-punk energy to proceedings. The album’s tones are ever-shifting but never fail to be anything but mesmerizing.

As summer fades and the rains cometh, we recommend grabbing this moody delight and getting lost for a little while. It’s well worth the trip.

Sam Walker-Smart, Clash Magazine