The Traps – Calypso

Hurrah! The Traps’ much anticipated debut album, Calypso, finally sees the light of day on September 30^th. The band’s growing posse of fans will already be familiar with the singles on offer here, including title track and album opener Calypso which kicks the whole thing off in fine style. A lush cocktail of synths, sun soaked guitars and booty shaking drums it’s like a night on the beach with your mates and a bottle of rum...or Tennent’s Super if you’re on a budget. Before you’ve had time to dust the sand from eyes you’re hit with The Honey Drip. Arguably the band’s most addictive song to date there’s a lot going on here (piano, brass, synths, guitars, drums, triangles, something that sounds a little like a kettle...that might just be my dodgy speakers though) in fact you half expect the kitchen sink to come in at one point, but somehow it all sticks together in a suitably yummy way. Bee-rilliant. 

Away from the singles the band ease off the gas a little more on the broodingly epic Ida, which some might regard as the album’s ‘filler’ track (let’s face it pretty much every album has ‘em) and My Grip, which you could almost imagine being sung...well, mumbled...by Stuart Staples of T’Tindersticks. Floats my boat. They’re soon back on more upbeat ground though with Hornet’s Nest which seems to channel their inner Franz Ferdinand before stripping everything back rather beautifully on the piano and cello driven album closer When Do I Change.

It really doesn’t take a huge leap of imagination to picture a good half a dozen of these tunes (step forward Silverspun for instance, imagine if The Strokes were on Postcard Records back in the 80s) going down the proverbial storm during next year’s festival season. Could The Traps be the next big band to break out of Brum? On the strength of this debut it’s a case of Calyp-so far, so good.

Calypso is out on the marwellous Speech Fewapy Records on September 30th. 

PS: Best not to watch the video with your mum in the room...or my mum for that matter. But what would my mum be doing in your house eh?