Based in NorCal, specifically Healdsburg, California, surf-folk artist A.A. Triggs recently released his solo debut album, Sounds to Salve the Scarred and Scornful.
Formerly an EDM DJ producer, Triggs eventually got tired of the tedium and lifestyle. Triggs explains, “I would wake up at 10 PM and be back in bed at 5:00 PM—the hour’s no one was really awake. I felt a lot of isolation. I knew like 4 people, and I felt like I was on a deserted island.”
He goes on, adding, “I’ve been a musician for 20 years. Making beats was a fun detour for me, but it turned into a job, and I felt like my ideas and emotions were stifled by the format. Making music like this is what I have always wanted to do. It felt scary, liberating, and cathartic—it felt like a homecoming,”
Before becoming an EDM beatmaker, Triggs, a multi-instrumentalist, played punk, goth, outlaw country, and psychobilly music. On Sounds to Salve the Scarred and Scornful, he returns to the land of musical freedom and creativity, blending subjects like alienation, political and cultural commentary, and heartbreak into wholly original songs recalling Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Joy Division, and Johnny Cash.
Encompassing 16-tracks, highlights on the album include “Vipers,” merging vocals reminiscent of Johnny Cash with dark, mysterious flavours of alt-rock laced with hints of country. “On the Mountain” features surf-rock-lite savours with the twangy textures of old-school folk. Imagine Chris Isaak covering Waylon Jennings, and you’ll have an idea of what the song sounds like.
“Venus Flytrap” fuses eerie colours with psychedelic surf-folk, resulting in an eccentric balance of spooky tones. Whereas “A Little Death” opens on drawling guitars and then rolls into a rockabilly melody travelling on popping percussion. At once, baroque and trippy, the song bounces on yummy energy.
A song about alienation, “Salt and Rust”, features lysergic colours atop a thumping rhythm as Triggs’ rap-lite flow conjures up tinges of hip-hop. The amalgamation of psychedelic aromas and hip-hop produces a hallucinogenic effect, emphasized by Triggs’ deep, dreamy voice.
The ghostly voice of A.A. Triggs fused with surf-folk tangs gives rise to inimitable music, rife with country hoe-down skin covered in veneers of rippling surf vibes.
Listen to ‘Sounds to Salve the Scarred and Scornful’ – BELOW:
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