Troller got darker. The Austin-based trio dropped the Katatonia model of their debut for Graphicโs BDSM. Itโs a better look. Trollerโs (2012) lack of purported heavy metal was disappointing. At itโs best, Graphic is like happening on a snuff film in an old video store, but too often Troller is maudlin. Theyโre softies.
In Austin, the subcultures are cutthroat. Trollerโs Adam Jones has his eggs in several baskets. Not only is he in Troller, a trio with Amber Goersย and Justin Goers, Jones plays in S U R V I V E, Thousand Foot Whale Claw, and runs the cultish HoloDeck Records. Jones rockets from ambient drone to stellar minimalism all wrangled by HoloDeckโs roster of obsessives.
โThere is no place I would rather be right now. I like all of the over-saturation of bands, and the general apathy of the locals. Itโs very competitive and keeps everyone playing sharp.โ Jones is a member in the self-described โsynth nerd cultureโ of Austin. The city trains Troller, and in the chummy Texas way where everyone can appreciate the trio.
Troller, like the rest of HoloDeck, are synth nerds. The trio is composed of Amberย on bass then Justinย and Adam, each, on a synthesizer. Troller describes themselves as โdarkwave metal.โ No qualms there, though let’s emphasize the darkwave over the metal. Still, on Graphic the bass is leaden. It is consistent against Jones and Goersโ versatility.
โSundownerโ is the song that Troller advertises themselves with. Bleak Americana, rose-tinted like Lana Del Rey, summoned by a chugging bass and drum machine. The synthesizers are restrained, but tilt โSundownerโ towards Pop. 1280, even Laughing Hyenasโ swagger. Of course, Troller doesnโt have the pedestrian male kvetch. Amber Jonesย can sing.
Trollerโs like Beach House. Amberย is a vehicle for crossover success, with the vocal luster of Victoria Legrand. Reasonably, โStorm Makerโ breaks form, not tempo. Itโs idyllic synthesizers curl around Jonesย singing about the cacophony of daily life. Finally, the ballad silences her bass. โStorm Makerโ could be played on The Late Show.
BDSM will need a better soundtrack. Graphicโs sadomasochismโs is Trollerโs tool. Theyโve got their sights set past subculture, whether itโs the gimp or fellow synth nerds. Graphic is mature, and its synth pop dalliances signal that the battleaxe shtick of Troller was a ploy.
Graphic will be re-released on June 3rd by Crucial Blast (home to Gnaw Their Tonguesโ black metal hellscape).
