The Trolleyvox meld layering with ringing harmonies as vivid as the splashes of color parading across their album art. The sound is a complex one, bending the lush acoustic harmonies of The Byrds into the meandering, cryptic poetry of R.E.M. However, the Philadelphia-based band does not settle for routine and has managed to surprise listeners over the years with a fleet-footed style that never stays in one place for very long. On the breakthrough 2006 release, The Karaoke Meltdowns, the band meshed acoustic blueprints with ample dashes of electric sound to create a tight mix of nuanced pop songs. When asked whether the band felt more at home unplugged or with overdrive, guitarist and primary songwriter Andrew Chalfen mentioned the importance of both to the band's approach to songcraft. "We love to rock out, and we love to get all quiet and sensitive," says Chalfen. "Live, it's good to have a variety that we can bust out depending on the gig situation." In terms of influences, they’re hard to pin down. The band lists nearly two hundred bands as influencing factors on its MySpace page, so I asked Chalfen for a snapshot of what was playing on his stereo during the pivotal teen years. He cites early U2, R.E.M.’s Chronic Town, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Replacements, and Husker Du. As one listens to the crystalline songcraft of The Trolleyvox, the voices of many of these landmark artists certainly seep through the sounds.
Following up The Karaoke Meltdowns, which Chalfen describes as feeling like “a singles collection,” The Trolleyvox has opened its horizons more fully with the recent release of a double album titled Your Secret Safe / Luzerne (Transit of Venus, 09/04/07). “Up until this record, our album model has been like Beatles’ records,” says Chalfen. “Mix it up, not have the albums be sonically one-dimensional in terms of feel, dynamics, and style.” Your Secret Safe / Luzerne is the band’s most ambitious project to date, with the first disc reflecting a varied mix of textures and the second showing the band at its most stripped-down and acoustic. “We consciously selected different kinds of songs than usual,” explains Chalfen. “Sonically, they’re not the jam-packed, dense thickets of pop and riff and economy that, say, were a big part of The Karaoke Meltdowns. It feels like a true cohesive album listening experience.” Chalfen says he was going for a spacious cohesion to this recording, and cites the observation that mood is a driving factor behind listening in the moment. His aim was to create what he describes as a singular mood. “Our two new records, especially Luzerne, are an attempt to create a listening experience like that instead of our usual variety show,” he explains. “It wasn’t as conscious as with Your Secret Safe, but that record wound up having a really cool, spacious, almost regal feel to the whole thing.”
The Trolleyvox entered the studio to record the new albums with a production team consisting of Brian McTear, Amy Morrissey, and Adam Lasus. Chalfen described the marriage of digital and analog editing styles with McTear and Lasus working on the production. “Brian’s got tremendous patience and enthusiasm for digital editing,” he explains. “Adam Lasus is an amazing mixer, but he’s an analog reel-to-reel guy and won’t get into cutting and pasting individual tambourine hits individually on every beat. He needs to feel actual knobs and faders beneath his fingers and operate more intuitively.” The team was able to produce an array of numbers, from the hopscotch time signatures of “Reading,” to the swirling towers of sound in the 11-minute closer, “Cricket in Euphoria.” Chalfen cites McTear’s digital influence on the album as a positive driving force towards creating particular sounds. “I always hear these really cool effects on records,” says Chalfen, “yet despite all the times I’ve been in recording studios, I’m still a sonic neophyte when it comes to really getting a guitar to sound like Martian landscapes.”
Although the band weaves in and out of acoustic and electric sounds, Chalfen primarily starts the songwriting process with the acoustic guitar. “Every six months or so, I fill up a 90-minute tape with what I call ‘raw ether,’” he explains. Having such a foundation of raw riffs forces the band to be selective and flesh out some elements while keeping others in the goal of creating workable songs. Although the band’s songwriting approach has seen structure coming from improvisation, the band’s singer, Beth Filla, prefers going into things with structure already set. “Jamming, I think, makes her nervous,” says Chalfen. “She’s come up with some great vocal melody lines to riffs I’ve auditioned for her, but she claims that’s not the way her brain operates.”
After the success and positive critical reception of The Karaoke Meltdowns, The Trolleyvox has accelerated to the forefront of the Philadelphia indie scene that has blossomed over the past decade. According to Chalfen, the Philly music scene has been a healthy environment for indie rock bands to take root and grow. “It’s been really great for nearly a decade, come to think of it,” he says, “lots of places to play, many great bands, college radio support nearby, cheap housing if you know where to look for it. Bands seem to be moving here all the time.” When asked how MySpace has affected the band’s ability to expand and reach audiences, Chalfen cites its quality as a double-edged sword. “It helps especially with gig trading,” he explains, “but it really calls attention to the fact that everyone and their grandmother are in sixteen gazillion bands, all eternally trying desperately to network.” He believes that the acceleration and explosion of promotion opportunities has led many to tune out much of the plethora of bands, but he does acknowledge it as a quick gateway to a band’s music. “One useful thing is that one can see who is playing in town on a given night, then go to their MySpace page and check out what they sound like. I’ve been dreaming of such a service for years.”
Despite the band’s increased presence in the indie world, the journey has not always been pristine. “It’s always been like herding cats trying to keep the band lurching along,” says Chalfen. “Lives are busy and complicated and people’s time has always been at a premium.” Chalfen also noted that the band had self-financed its recording activities up until The Karaoke Meltdowns. The album that launched the band into greater circles of recognition was nearly stalled midway through due to a lack of funds. “That might have been it for us if Transit of Venus hadn’t come along and rescued our ass,” says Chalfen. “I was all resigned for a lifetime of anonymous bedroom recordings at that point.” From the inception of the project many years ago through the release of The Karaoke Meltdowns and Your Secret Safe / Luzerne, devotion to the music has kept The Trolleyvox in the game despite the hurdles.
The Trolleyvox has also had a shaky few months since the release of the double album. Chalfen acknowledges that the rhythm section personnel have seen many lineup changes over the years - a trend that continued when the band’s bassist, Owen Biddle, said goodbye to the band in order to join The Roots on the road. In addition to musical chairs in the lineup, Chalfen’s father recently passed away in September. Although The Trolleyvox has seen its share of rough roads, the new album is getting a warm reception and the future is optimistic. “We’d love to do some more touring in ’08,” says Chalfen. “We’ll see what happens.” At the core, it’s the music that has been the glue that has held The Trolleyvox in creative flourish. “The lure of having the music in one’s head become fully realized is the prime mover in all of this.”
The Trolleyvox is currently slated to play a number of dates on a west-coast acoustic tour with Beth, Andrew, and the bare-boned instrumental essentials. “Maybe one day we’ll be big enough where it’d make economic sense to bring the whole band out there and guzzle obscene amounts of gas in a van,” Chalfen remarks. After that, the band will play several more dates on the tail-end of the tour. From there, the future is an open one. For a band that continues to surprise audiences and dazzle the ears, it’s an open road of possibility, expression, and music.
--Matt Wendus
Photo: Karl Seifert
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Your Secret Safe / Luzerne is available now on Transit of Venus Records.
http://www.myspace.com/thetrolleyvox
http://www.transitofvenusmusic.com
