Trade Wind may have only happened by accident, but for us, it was definitely a happy one. When Jesse Barnett of Stick To Your Guns and Stray From The Path‘s Tom Williams started jamming together in 2012, they never expected to formally release anything. Four years later, here they are with a first full-length album. But while their debut EP was full of riff-heavy rock songs (just as you’d expect from the members of two hardcore punk outfits), there’s a definite case of dual identity happening on You Make Everything Disappear.
It starts out just as you would think. Lead single I Hope I Don’t Wake Up channels Thrice with its dark, moody guitars that slide from ringing chords into an offbeat riff, and follow-up Lowest Form is even better. “You only take your shots when you’re not exposed / The only break I get, when you reload” sings Jesse in muted, almost sinister tones, never above speaking volume, so it feels like he’s saying the words directly into your ear. It’s a masterclass in how to hold a listener captive, and convey a huge amount of emotion without ever once raising your voice – Chino Moreno himself would be proud.
What Lowest Form also does, with its intro of distorted vocals over a frantic, processed drum beat, is give you a hint of what’s to come – experimentation. With the exception of Rare, the rest of You Make Everything Disappear is completely different from anything these four guys have done before, either together or in their other bands. Radio Songs‘ melancholy is understated rather than dramatic (at least, right up until it explodes at the end), closing track Je T’aimerais Toujours is a beautiful, mellow ballad (yes, sung entirely in French), and that is preceded by a little untitled interlude which consists of nothing but a piano and Jesse‘s muted vocals giving us the most poignant lyrics of the whole album – “I don’t want to go right now / Don’t make me… If you have to leave, take me.”
Nestled amongst all of that is a song which, if Lowest Form is the album’s best track, is certainly the most interesting – Grey Light. It’s a piece of pure, chilled-out electronica which could almost be James Blake, all drum machines, echoey keyboards and pitch-shifted vocals. There’s almost no guitar at all, just a shimmer in the final chorus to add an extra layer to the mellow, immersive soundscape they’ve created. This is a clear departure for the group, the sound of a band that aren’t afraid to push themselves and try new things. You Make Everything Disappear might suffer a little from a lack of cohesion, but frankly, if it means they keep producing songs like this we don’t care. Keep your eyes on Trade Wind everyone – you never know which way they’re going to blow next.
8/10
Standout Tracks: Lowest Form, Grey Light
For Fans Of: Thrice, Brand New, Deftones
Written by: Josh Prentice
