The Top 50 Albums Of 2012: #50 Trailer Trash Tracys

Trailer Trash Tracys’ ‘Ester’ was listed at #50 in The Fly’s Top 50 Albums of 2012. Read the list here.

In the months since Trailer Trash Tracys released their debut, they’ve snuck onto prime time TV (with a little help from Renault), enchanted the Parisian elite and set themselves up as one of the UK’s most spellbinding bands.

“It’s been a balance of luck and unluck,” reflects guitarist Jimmy Lee, reclining in his chair after he and his creative partner have just been posing for photos. Opposite him sits singer and androgynite Suzanne Aztoria, nodding along as he explains the learning curve they’ve found themselves on.

“We’ve learnt so much this year,” he continues. ”What works and what doesn’t. It’s taken us so many gigs to get comfortable playing live and get the sound from the record to work live.”

“This has been the most difficult thing I’ve ever done,” Suzanne interjects. “You’re so emotionally attached to the songs. It’s like they’re a part of you and to have people out there judging it… It makes you tougher.”

Not that debut album ‘Ester’ came in for a pasting – for the most part, it received nothing but praise for its sprawling sonic experimentation. It’s an impressive debut that took four years to make as the pair juggled day jobs with the act of transforming their ideas into songs. Now successful enough to sack off the 9-5, it’s spurred them on to take control and make the most of their current situation.

“It’s been amazing for me because I’ve always worked full time,” explains Suzanne. “Now it’s like I’m getting some of that time back and I’m able to focus on music. That was probably the highlight of the year for me now I’ve thought about it.”

“It’s not going to last forever. We’ll probably have to get a job here and there, but generally we can go on tour and not worry about money as much as we used to,” adds Jimmy, shooting a glance at the Swedish blonde across the table from him. “Even if it’s only for a year, you’ve got to be grateful for it,” she responds with a wise smile.

Don’t take their humble behavior as an underestimation the quality of what they’ve produced so far though. Talk to them about ‘Ester’ and they beam with pride – even though they’re aware some people don’t quite grasp what it’s about.

“I guess for some people, the average listener, they’re not going to understand,” Jimmy reasons. “It’s too much of a journey on one album maybe.”

One of their earliest songs and album  highlight ‘You Wish You Were Red’ was chosen to soundtrack a family’s Renault-based travels in the rain, the band exposed themselves to even more potential listeners. But don’t accuse them of selling out.

“People who say we’re doing that need to go and buy a bloody record,” Jimmy says, his gaze growing sterner with each word as Suzanne questions how else they’d make money in this day and age.

Jimmy continues, “I talked to the drummer from Stereolab about it and he said no one would care. That convinced me it wouldn’t damage our reputation. I thought the whole thing was hilarious though. It’s a bedroom recorded track on mainstream TV! The thing is, they told us it was going to be like the film ‘Drive’. There’d be a couple in a car and it’d be really moody.”

One thing that didn’t disappoint the band as much as a lack of Ryan Gosling-aping in the aforementioned advert was their trip to France last May. Suzanne’s face lights up as she recalls their time on tour there.

“We played these amazing venues and the people were so nice. There, they really like to go up and talk to you after the gigs. I really enjoyed that because they were so excited to talk about the band, the music and what they thought.”

Jimmy nods. “The best place we played was Silencio, David Lynch’s nightclub in Paris. It was amazing. The people didn’t know us at all. It’s a really exclusive club, a bit poncey, but we felt so free playing there because we just didn’t care.”

Back on home soil, the pair have spent the last few months gearing up to record their second album whilst drummer Dayo James and bassist Adam Jaffrey headed out on tour with other bands. Aiming for an April release and with half of its tracks demoed, they opt to keep their cards close to their chest on specifics for now but do hint at a “fuller, livelier sound” that continues to push the boundaries of pop music. They might have had an awesome 2012, but it doesn’t sound like Trailer Trash Tracys are done just yet.

Rhian Daly