Taurus Trakker: Enemies, Screams & Rejections
CD | DL
via Bandcamp
Out now
WEST LONDON STILL CALLING! In a week when the government proscribed a peaceful protest group as a terrorist organisation and Donald Trump announced that he would be staining the World Cup Final with his grotesque intellectually redundant, sycophantic freak show, the midsummer madness levels truly felt as if they were hitting boiling point. Which is always a good moment for a new Taurus Trakker album to come strolling over the horizon…And boom! Here they are, right on time, now a veritable West London rock ‘n’ roll institution and firing on all cylinders with their new 10-track LP…
Thematically, the album takes a loosely chronological wander through various key moments of frontman and songwriter Martin Trakker’s long journey through the underbelly of Rock’n’Roll London. It’s rich, rewarding territory, punctuated by Trakker’s wry biting lyrical savvy and musically encyclopedic guitar canon, a weapon that dips and soars gloriously throughout the album.
Arrival 56 opens proceedings with tribal drums and careering guitar salvos combining on a short, powerful instrumental introduction which sets us up nicely for the next song One Room, that chronicles our guide’s journey home from Hammersmith Hospital and subsequent entry into a world which Elvis Presley has just set on fire. Trakker’s last line reflects on how if you want to live in the same one room he returned to as a new born baby today – ”You’d have to be a millionaire.” A poignantly ironic musing on the contemporary gentrification of so many inner London boroughs and other similar areas across Britain.
Next up Transistor Radio blasts out of the speakers in fine style. A sharp guitar intro meets a Who-style vocal proclaiming the power of transistor radios upon the eardrums of a whole generation of post-Beatlemania British kids. Trakker’s up and about now digging the pirate shows, with the lyrics honing in on 1969 and the last embers of the ‘psychedelic’ era. Jimi’s setting the radio ablaze.
He Ain’t Like Us opens with a Hip-Hop drum beat before sliding its way round your eardrums in a moody Bolanesque-groove heralding the arrival of glam rock into the consciousness of raggedly-arsed early seventies teenagers. It’s a song with the memorable year of 1972 stamped all over it. The year in which I myself first wandered into the life-changing cauldron of a Bowie concert. To say things were never quite the same again is a decidedly conservative statement, as all those who rode in the same carriage know only too well. Trakker concludes with the announcement “I ain’t like them.” A collective epiphany of realisation that dawned on so many of us back then.
Barrington’s Knockout acknowledges the violent undertones of the early to mid-’70s period, a time when in my all-boys comprehensive school, there were three basic qualities which you needed to survive. You had to be either a cool dresser, a shit hot footballer, or a good fighter, with any one of those ensuring you just might float in what was undoubtedly a “sink or swim” environment.
The song focuses on the third of those attributes in no uncertain style, as a young rude boy of the time serves physical justice upon a sadistic male teacher. And again, in direct reference to that latter breed, all those who were “there”, know exactly what I’m talking about.
Slide it Down finds us still inside the heady euphoria of ’72 as Trakker looks back on his first forays into trying to form bonds with young females of the era. He’s trying hard to “keep it clean” and “make her feel nice”, as he tours the bars and others “play a dirty game”. Echoes of Slade combine with some superb rockabilly and bluesy guitar flourishes, which emphasise Trakker’s consummate ability to marry influences and genres.
Another jump forward in time and we arrive in the White Space of 1989. Trakker’s again “surrounded by girls but this time I was hypnotised”. The intro throws up hints of late Clash melodies, whilst our intrepid wanderer recalls a visit to a not-too-splendid restaurant wherein he was met with “A fish head on a lettuce bed and a spoonful of mash potato”. Some things just ain’t what they’re cracked up to be.
On the definitively rockabilly style Bus To Mexico, Trakker proclaims that “London Town has lost its soul!” Cool walking bass from Zak Scarper underlines his appetite for more exotic shores but whether he ever arrived in the land of tortillas and tequila, I’m not quite sure. I’d like to think he did and that the huge sombrero sported by his cousin Mick Jones on a stroll through Portobello a few years ago, was a present from that bygone escape bid. It’s highly likely that I’m indulging in a spot of rock ‘n’ roll romanticism there but in these dark times, we could all do with such an injection every now and then.
The album closes with the brooding The Alliance. Musically, it’s a song combining eastern-style guitar passages with atmospheric Pink Floydish chord changes, whilst Trakker ruminates that there are “too many ghosts around” in another solitary room, inside of which he ponders on the fact that he’s still somehow alive and breathing, inside the insane tech-fired hyper-tense landscape of 2025.
Enemies, Screams & Rejections is a superb album, a collection of skilfully crafted songs to which large numbers of people will relate. Taurus Trakker are a remarkable band, one that utilises the simple three-strong guitar, bass and drums ensemble to paint highly impressive musical canvases, which many groups containing wider instrumental elements can only dream about. Martin Trakker’s voice and lyrical tapestries, provide the juicy cherry on what is a highly satisfying king-sized audio gateau.
In a heavily transformed corner of West London, rebel rock ‘n’ roll is still alive and kicking and, in their particular guitar-driven field, Taurus Trakker are miles ahead of the rest of the pack.
Switch It On!
TAURUS TRAKKER ARE:
Martin Trakker – Guitars and lead vocals.
Zak Scarper – Bass
Allison Phillips – Drums
Listen and buy from Enemies, Screams & Rejections | Taurus Trakker
Taurus Trakker Official Website
Launch gig
~
All words Richard David for LTW
A Plea From Louder Than War
Louder Than War is run by a small but dedicated independent team, and we rely on the small amount of money we generate to keep the site running smoothly. Any money we do get is not lining the pockets of oligarchs or mad-cap billionaires dictating what our journalists are allowed to think and write, or hungry shareholders. We know times are tough, and we want to continue bringing you news on the most interesting releases, the latest gigs and anything else that tickles our fancy. We are not driven by profit, just pure enthusiasm for a scene that each and every one of us is passionate about.
To us, music and culture are eveything, without them, our very souls shrivel and die. We do not charge artists for the exposure we give them and to many, what we do is absolutely vital. Subscribing to one of our paid tiers takes just a minute, and each sign-up makes a huge impact, helping to keep the flame of independent music burning! Please click the button below to help.
John Robb – Editor in Chief
