TROUMACA - The Grace

As the summer fades away into a new autumn, it is only natural that we desperately try to cling on to the sounds that take us back to the cider-fueled and reveller fields of a British summer festival. Anybody who went to any festival this summer will be sure to tell you that an almost garagey bassline and the relentless tchk tchk tchk of a snare fused with euphoric synth beats were the soundtracks to their hedonism this summer and Troumaca’s new release clings to the remnants of summer 2013.

After signing to legendary Radio 6 DJ Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings label at the end of last year, Troumaca have slowly and steadily built up there fanbase through an ep release (February’s Virgin Island EP), psychedelic Animal Collective-esque music videos for their track 'Lady Colour' and 'My Love' and a sporadic stream of live performances across the country. The release of Troumaca’s debut album and the upcoming Autumn tour accompanying it must seem like the perfect climax for the band and their dedicated fanbase after a year spent inserting themselves into the echelons of some of Britain’s most inventive and interesting bands of this year.

Encompassing an eclectic mix of dub reggae, synthpop, R&B, garage, dream pop, and alt rock, 'The Grace' does that thing which good albums do in which they seem almost familiar to you but at the same time sound like something produced in another galaxy. 'Trees' sounds like something from a rave you went to maybe a few summers back but it also sounds like it could be from the sundrenched soundtrack of some LA set, 80s crime drama. 'Lady Colour' espouses the nouveau psychedelia we’ve seen a renaissance of over the past 5 years while title track 'The Grace' seems to borrow from the synth-soul heavy bassline you’d find in a Miike Snow track.

While certainly a fun record to listen to, there is no doubt in mind that there is a serious vision behind it as the technical sheen that emanates from the production of this album suggests a greater ambition than just to slide into the background haze of other bands of this ilk. 'The Grace' may very well serve as the soundtrack for the rest of this year and perhaps even the summer of 2014. The Grace is released on 23rd September on Brownswood Recordings and Troumaca play Think Tank, Newcastle on Thursday 10th October.

Words: Jamie Shepherd