It is often said that the greatest musical groups are the ones with the right mixture of ideas, talent and chemistry. These are things Trifecta have in abundance. It is, of course, no secret that the three members – keyboardist Adam Holzman, bassist/Chapman Stick mastermind Nick Beggs and drummer Craig Blundell – have spent their most recent years touring some of the world’s biggest stages as part of many bands including with Steven Wilson. So when they decide to form a largely instrumental offshoot as a trio, eventually writing and releasing 2021’s Fragments debut (which we reviewed here), they were already off to a head start, with a tangible sense of creative familiarity that had been stunning audiences in every corner of the globe.
For listeners seeking to escape the confines of the normal world, ‘The New Normal’ will enable a window into vistas in a multitude of sonics and in concept. By combining elements of Progressive Rock, Jazz Fusion all with a dash of typical English wit the band bring the listener into a world where sound is malleable, time is a mere concept and vegetables have otherworldly properties like the ‘Stroboscopic Fennel’.
This new 19 track, epic sees the band building upon the innovative ambition and genre-hopping skulduggery they so fearlessly introduced themselves to the world with on ‘Fragments’. The New Normal could easily have carried on in that same direction and comfortably delighted fans of all three musicians, as well as their associated projects. But if there’s anything we know about Holzman, Beggs and Blundell, it’s that they are bursting with ideas of every kind. Which explains why this album is guided by an uncontainable brilliance and bravado that packs in so many twists and turns, practically laughing at any notion of genre or boundary. The mid-70s fusion of Beck And Call cascades into the jazz noir brilliance of Dot Are You Wooing without a flicker of hesitation, venturing far beyond the introductory nuances into something truly dazzling and unexpected, telling another chapter of a rapidly evolving story. It’s almost as if this band take delight in ignoring the stylistic stop signs that provoke fear in the less adventurous…
“I think we all felt it was important to not fit too heavily into one idiom,” admits Beggs. “There was a lot we wanted to say and we couldn’t really compact it all into one predetermined sound. I’m especially proud of Dot Are You Wooing and Chinese Fire Drill. We wanted to take listeners on a journey they won’t forget. The roots of every song is representative of one person in this band. Adam would come up with something like Wacky Tobaccy, mapping out the sonics, and then we would expand on it together, changing things up wherever it suited the music. Craig came up with the song Ornamental Lettuce and then Adam and I added our parts on top. There’s plenty more to come!”
Joining the trio of masterful musos is Alex Lifeson (Envy of None / Rush) for additional guitar on ‘Once Around The Sun With You’ and Theo Travis (Steven Wilson) on saxophone for insectoid grooves of ‘Daddy Long Legs’. Alongside John Paul Jones’ very chapman stick from 1979 that was sent to Nick and used to record ‘The New Normal’.
The album was recorded in the Bermuda Triangle of normality that is Leighton Buzzard, Bedford and New York between 2019 and 2023, engineered by the band and mastered by Andy VanDette (Beastie Boys / Rush / Whitney Houston), adorned with artwork that was inspired by an original idea from Hajo Muller.
Available on Limited edition white 2 LP / CD / 2 LP and digitally – with pre-orders available here: https://TrifectaKscope.lnk.to/The_New_Normal
1. Beck And Call [02:35]
2. Dot Are You Wooing? [00:53]
3. Stroboscopic Fennel [02:25]
4. Just Feel It Karen [03:53]
5. Sibling Rivalry [04:01]
6. Ornamental Lettuce [02:15]
7. Daddy Long Legs [04:07]
8. What Are You Doing? [00:53]
9. Stupid Pop Song [03:32]
10. Crime Spree [03:07]
11. Bach Stabber [02:07]
12. Kleptocrat [02:35]
13. Once Around The Sun With You [03:50]
14. Chinese Fire Drill [03:29]
15. Ouch! My OCD [01:17]
16. Wake Up Call [03:46]
17. Wacky Tobaccy [03:28]
18. Canary In A Five And Dime [03:55]
19. On The Spectrum [03:23]
Follow Trifecta:
https://www.instagram.com/trifectahq/
https://www.facebook.com/trifectahq
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6ls6unyjivympqd6ltpkro?si=z-utup3zrxksn61lizhywa
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/trifecta/1569635428
www.kscopemusic.com/artist/trifecta
Leave a Reply