Trembling Blue Stars
The Last Holy Writer

The Trembling Blue Stars are an English indie band on the music scene since 1996, the soul of the group is Bobby Wratten active for over two decades first with The Field Mice, then with the Northern Picture Library and finally the formation of the current band, with which he has clearly stamped his mark and his way of seeing music. The music of the Trembling Blue Stars is without a doubt enchanting and fascinating, a melancholic music that deeply plows the paths of our soul. An artistic and melancholic indie pop never banal, with continuous electronic intertwining supported by excellent and never heavy arrangements and by the soft and crystalline voice of singer Beth Arzy.

"The Last Holy Writer" is their latest effort dating back to 2007 and released by the Spanish label Elephant, the sixth studio work and the second published with Elephant.

It is an album that unveils itself slowly, offering new and always different sensations with each listen, almost as if it responds to our requirements and needs. Melodic, melancholic, poignant, compelling, elusive, magical.

"By False Lights" introduces and prepares the journey, overturning the canons of Bobby's music, creating an atmosphere of anticipation for the next track that explodes in Beth's voice in airy and dreamy pop. It is the pop of "Idyllwild," which accompanies and cradles us in the dream, a dream that continues in the next track "Sacred Music", with Bobby's voice and Beth's distant choruses keeping us company again. Melancholy is a hallmark of the band's entire work, from the very first albums to this latest one, emphasizing our emotions and urging us to tune in with the musical world of Trembling.

The emotions flow on different tracks, flow on the electronic of the following pieces "This Once Was an Island", "The Coldest Sky" and "Schnee Glestcher Glas", the latter characterized by an almost rarefied atmosphere, on the delicate but compelling arpeggios of "November Starlings" and "Darker, Colder, Slower", to then calm down again, throwing us into the arms of Beth and her voice in "From a Pale Blue Rosary", a voice that here abandons the dreamy tones to capture us in the most total melancholy, in the most total absence. It's feeling light, almost flying and then returning to reality with "The Tenth of Always" and "Say Goodbye to the Sea", Bobby's guitar, his words and the almost imperceptible sound of the sea waves caressing the beach. The journey is not over yet because there awaits us the tender and sweet "A Statue to Wilde", in which the dream regains strength and life thanks to Beth's ever-embracing voice, truly a fitting conclusion.

An album to discover, hiding little gems, capable of igniting your soul like the music of Mojave3 just to find some similarities. It's a shame that this band remains semi-hidden in the commercial and non-commercial musical clutter, even though this is mainly due to the attitude that Bobby Wratten has maintained throughout these years, certainly more focused on the contents of his music than anything else.