Crannk Reviews Trash & The Treasures - Live Album "Live at Mr Boogie Man Bar" -

Trash & The Treasures are a 4 piece blues-punk band from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The band released a live album via Bandcamp on the 19th of March 2020. The band also announced that the profits from sales will go to Mr Boogie Man BAR in Collingwood, Victoria, Australia. This is the band’s 4th release on the Bandcamp platform in less than 12 months. I’ve heard and enjoyed everything the band has put up so far, I even reviewed the band’s debut EP ‘Reduced To Clear’ for Crannk last year.

Review Link http://www.crannk.com/crannk-reviews-trash-the-treasures-reduced-to-clear-ep/

The new release ‘Live at Mr Boogie Man BAR‘ was recorded on the 12th of September 2019. It features 7 tracks in total and 3 of those are previously unreleased, this might not sound like much but the album contains a little over 30 minutes of music. It opens with a song called ‘Swamp‘ (4:08), the band released this as a single on Bandcamp in November last year. It’s a dirty rock blues track with a solid groove, soft verses that build-up to the chorus parts. The bass sound is great, it really adds to the appeal of the already accomplished bass lines in this song. The vocal style is animated, energetic, and rough around the edges which adds greatly to the character of the song. I enjoyed that something extra added by some cool harmonica parts too.
The second track ‘Lola Montez‘ (4:14) is from the bands ‘Reduced To Clear’ EP, this track follows the opener really well offering up more of that dirty blues-rock sound. A solid groove with plenty of room to jam and every instrument gets a chance to shine. At this point, I’ve taken note that the previously released songs hold up well compared to the studio versions.
The third track ‘Train not stopping‘ (6:34) has a great intro that sounds a lot like a train chugging along the tracks complete with horn. At around the 25-second mark it merges seamlessly into music. The musical start is a similar blues-rock groove that winds down to a great smooth-sounding bass line. The guitar plays a rhythmic pattern with an echo pattern as it slowly cycles through some chords. As this progresses it adds some nice licks for fills. The chorus part kicks in taking form a heavy groove, there are some great little bass fills and the vocals provide the hook. The chorus parts of this song jam out and wind down into the verse. As we slide into the next track ‘Coming Through‘ (4:05) the band is heading towards more of a rock sound, it’s more upbeat. Multiple factors help highlight the change of direction like the vocal melody being presented in a shouty gang-style manner and the guitar parts feel more rock than blues. It still has the harmonica but at this point in the album, we’ve definitely changed direction.

The next track ‘Eddy Riot‘ (4:55) starts with a count on the sticks, a wind-down piece of music leads into another fast-paced rock type song, complete with shouty vocals and some great bass fills. This song is from the bands ‘Reduced To Clear‘ EP and again this version holds up well against the studio version.
Fred (6:56) a slow start with the bass laying down a groove and the drums backing it up. The guitar is using a wah pedal and doing some riff/lick parts, soon after the harmonica starts in and the guitar switches it up to chords with sharp strums and pauses creating an echo in the soundscape. The lyrical flow adds some speed to the verse part, I’m feeling strong ska vibes until the chorus part. The guitar changes it up again, this time to chords ringing out with a crunchy distorted tone. Everything except the harmonica, which is absent during the chorus parts, rides over the top of the guitar as it changes chords to accent the vocal hook. Pat’s vocal delivery changes and is contrasted by some shouty gang-style vocals yelling “drop dead Fred”. The song pattern is intro/verse/chorus played through twice before it speeds up for one last verse/chorus.
The final song ‘Superstar‘ (4:00) brings us back to a more familiar punk sound with a basic progression of distorted power chords and great bass fills backed by strong drumming. The original studio version wasn’t this long and I was pleasantly surprised to hear ‘Projectile‘ also from the ‘Reduced To Clear‘ EP.
In summary, this album is more blues at the start and more rock at the end with some weird variables creating a versatile listening experience if you listen to it in one sitting. If your already a trashies fan then the previously unreleased songs offer something new without straying too far from the sounds you’re used to hearing. It’s great to see that secret tracks still make their way on to records.