"It came from Austin" seems like an applicable phrase to describe the Alan Howarth-esque sensibilities of Adam Jones, a dominant force in the current Austin scene, who happens to play in a number of groups, including SURVIVE, Troller, Thousand Foot Whale Claw and probably a few more I'm unaware of. The whole "It came from..." element may feel reminiscent of B-movie trailers and posters from VHS rental spots, and that wouldn't be far off from the reality, except grounding the music of Troller & SURVIVE in nostalgia would be dually wrong and negligent of the primitive futurism beholden in the tunes. Melancholic darkness rides high, as does a preternatural sense of melody, often degraded into the mix, yet fully aware in headspace. I once played my Mom some SURVIVE in the car over holiday and she thought it was scary, but also liked the synth movements, which is weird, as I just expected the music to fly high over her head without any thought as to what she was actually hearing. But that wasn't the case, as the depth of the tunes is so apparent, it's hard to ignore. Such is the wonder in these two live sets recently posted to Swamp Donkey's SoundCloud. Massively cloudy, wholly erotic, and Mariana's deep. Also, stay tuned for a Thousand Foot Whale Claw tape on TCC very, very soon.
Troller by swamp donkey
SURVIVE by swamp donkey
