Trespassers William "Having" (Nettwerk)
By Peter A. Holden
Friday. Mar 10, 1:08 AM
The right music for a troubled heart.

I kind of like the challenge of sometimes not getting any press materials from a band that I’m reviewing. Most of the time, the usual accoutrements are a press sheet, bio, album info, and a little blurb from the PR folks about why I should really really dig their band. Sometimes I get the album, plain and simple, and I like the option of deciding for myself what I think without ANY outside influences. This happened recently with a couple bands. Namely, Trespassers William, who have released an album called Having. It’s a calm and relaxing swoon into the realm of the spacious and cool.

I’d like to harp on the artwork for a bit. What seemed to stand out first to me as I was listening was the appropriateness of the artwork. Shades of brown, yellow, and white encompass the whole piece. It’s a spectrum that resides somewhere in the tranquil. Flowers, a bedroom, a sleepy apartment with a view of the city at night. The image on the cover is of a woman sleeping and dreaming, but we can’t see her face. Because of her posture as she’s lying there, we get the impression she is seeking solitude and comfort as she is rapt in personal sadness and contemplation. I think that right there is the best way I can paint a verbal picture of what Having really says musically. It’s as if the whole album is seeking solitude, subtly letting you in on the pain and sadness it’s currently feeling. Slow moving and gradual. Beautifully tight, simple rhythms with subtle vibrations slather the underbelly upon which the delicate female vocals reside. Patterned and jangly guitars even out the atmosphere to make for a seascape of tonal beauty. You’re accompanied here by the soundtrack that only a day spent in lonely sadness can make you feel. It is the very essence of longing, in musical form. In fact, at times it’s almost heart wrenching. You can relate to this album if you have ever loved truly and deeply. The track titles practically spell out universal questions.

Somewhere between Mazzy Star and Doves, Trespasssers William fit snuggly. But there is a spacious beauty to them that never really yields to the more pop-oriented leanings of the previous two. Trespassers William get an A in all respects. It’s the right music for a troubled heart that needs to go through the motions.
www.trespasserswilliam.com
www.nettwerk.com

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Peter A. Holden

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