Trudy and the Romance - 'The Original Doo-Wop Spacemen'

Warm, retro and surreal - these impeccably dressed Scousers give us a glimpse into their unique little world.

If you're offered to review a song called ‘The Original Doo-Wop Spacemen’, you review it. If you refuse, adulthood has truly got to you and crushed your soul. It didn't even matter that it's the first single from one of Liverpool's worst kept secrets debut album, but after one listen- that definitely becomes apparent. Trudy and the Romance have been kicking around since 2015 as a three piece "mutant 50’s pop" beat group, succeeding that traditionally Scouse trait of combining the retro with the impeccably modern.

The band are going through the process of expanding their live lineup - which is understandable given the scope of their artistic vision. Whilst they keep their musical structures relatively simple and classic, the Brian Wilson-esque compulsiveness that their sound seems to radiate gives them a space of their own amongst the alternative guitar music world to work. And good lord, do they use that space well.

Trudy and the Romance mine the archives of pre-Beatles and sometimes even pre-rock'n'roll influences in all of their songs- in some way ‘The Original Doo-Wop Spacemen’ is no different. But this song has broadened this bands horizon's with some stunning chiming melodies which wouldn't have sounded out of place on big modern American rock albums like The National's ‘High Violet’ and the edge of the guitars combine the obvious 50’s influence with an equally retro garage rock sound. It's instantly familiar whilst sounding unlike anything you've ever heard.

Random jazzy sax breaks and predictable doo-wop vocals give the spacemen their own personalities; introverted, unusual. But the warmth of the Phil Spector style production makes this unimpeachable character approachable, it compliments it's sense of humour. While Trudy and the Romance never really come out of first gear with this first taster of their upcoming (and referenced here) debut album ‘Sandman’, the song is both a hazy desert and a welcome pool of water in the middle of it. No mirage in sight. Expect more energetic cuts from this record, but if there is a track more beautiful- we're in for a hell of a time.

Words of James Kitchen