The “Feel Alright” album by the 6-piece band Trillion has an undiluted, dedicated shoegaze sound. There is not a single song on this album that feels out of place; each song makes a lovely auditory home, with strong, supple walls of sound that leave the listener comforted and refreshed. The marriage of shoegaze and dreampop can lay a strong foundation and leave a lasting impression.
The album opens up with “Echoes of a Sunny Smile”, a track that embodies classic shoegaze elements of distorted and fuzzy guitars with trails of shimmer along heavy, echoed, and reverbed vocals. The drums fill and crash, carrying the mood along the tempo of the song with booms in between instrumentals. The dual vocal layers of the band members harmonize to create a sound that reminds me of hazy afterthoughts and old memories that make you happy. The mix and efforts of the instruments do an incredibly beautiful and nostalgic job of capturing the essence of the echoes of a sunny smile.
Following up is “Something (Like This)”, and immediately ensnares the listener into the buildup of a heavy shoegaze rhythm and crisp cymbals. Male and female vocals create a harmonious atmosphere that pairs well with the catchy, saturated bass riffs. The instrumental breaks with heavily distorted guitars and drum booms complement the rest of the song. With the fuzzy and bright guitar riffs marrying along with the warm, droning, and siren-like synths, as well as iconic drum crashes, this song is really something.
Coming right after is “Night City,” with a familiar, established shoegaze tone authentic to Trillion. With a bit of funkiness to the bass line and the upbeat tempo upheld by the consistent drum beat, the instrumental intro builds a feeling of traversing through a city at night. Vocals come through, providing that signature dreampop and shoegaze oohs and aahs alongside drowning reverbs and twangy, overdriven guitar riffs.
“Coda” provides a break room of essential shoegaze sound. Keeping it simple with a minute of pure noise from effects pedals alongside a creative synth melody.
A drum beat opens up “Death Arrows”, followed by lead guitar that characterizes the tone of the song with an echoey, delayed, and heavily reverberated fuzzy and shimmery signal. Layered, repeating, trance-like vocals, infused with reverb, plunge the song into its own atmosphere, and the drums come in stronger again, ascending the listener into this dream pop world with an unmistakably and irrefutably shoegaze atmosphere.
“Find Some Time” starts with a melodic and shimmering synth lead that is soon met with strong drums and a catchy guitar riff. This song further establishes Trillion’s iconic dual vocalists’ style as their layers pair effortlessly and glide alongside the sounds made by the other band members’ instruments, creating a sort of mesmerising and unique tone wherein each element of the effects used finds some time to make its mark on the listener.
The last track of the album is “Over Easy”, yet it does not, in fact, go over easily for the audience. I actually found this song to have a positive lasting impression and wished the album would last. However, I think that it is a fitting choice for being the final track. Waves of nostalgia are emitted audibly for the listener to hold on to and remember as the drums create memorable percussions with their distinct style of playing booms and crashes, the guitars provide a constant wall of true shoegaze sound, and the droning reverb on echoed vocals seal the deal and bring it home for a true fan of shoegaze and dreampop and to their ultimate delight.
I also find it incredibly endearing that Trillion chose to release this album under the label “Not Another Shoegaze Record”. Please keep making music, and I am so grateful to have been able to cover this epic record.
Written by Bridge
