The Trolleyvox
intro || mp3 || reviews
Fufkin.com No offense to her four bandmates, but any discussion of The Trolleyvox must begin with Beth Filla. Her warm voice is the immediate appeal. It's not one of these modern, show-offy voices. It can be dignified, playful, even sensuous. Her singing is somewhat in the folk rock tradition, and 'voxer Andrew (ex-Wishinaks) Chalfen's songs showcase the most appealing aspects of her instrument. As writer Stewart Mason noted, in an internet comment about this very record, why aren't their more of these jangly pop-rock records with female vocalists, since it seems like such a natural combination. This is particularly true when the songs are literate adult-pop. The tunes here are about as good as recent material from contemporaries like Dolly Varden and Rosanne Cash and, going back a bit in time, 10,000 Maniacs (before Natalie Merchant became insufferable) and Stevie Nicks (before she became insufferable). Everything is just stepped up a bit from the last Trolleyvox disc, which is probably just natural improvement.
So you get to hear sublime stuff like "Oregon Lanes". This song has layers of nifty stuff going on. It has a galloping rhythm and sounds somewhat like a mellower Pretenders (like "Kid" or "Don't Get Me Wrong") or a bit more energetic Everything But The Girl (back in their pre-dance music days). Chalfen empties all the guitars out of his closet, strumming some acoustics, playing leads -- counterpoint leads, including a light twangy guitar to compliment the bottom provided by Greg Dubrow's bass. There are splendid harmony vocals and a typically strong performance by Filla. The song is about two folks who almost connect. Filla's voice captures the ambiguity of the dynamic, sounding alternatively winsome and weary. On this song, she holds on to syllables in a way that gives her voice a unique edge. Yeah, it makes more sense when you hear it -- I think it's pretty sexy. This is all in support of a cool hook in the chorus, where the melody goes on a sudden incline that is totally aces. It even has cool lyrics: "Near as we can be to not quite" -- this is simply wonderful.
"Singing Telegram" conjures up a Buckingham-Nicks collaboration. The song is a slow acoustic burn. This song is as stripped down as could be, with drummer Ken Buono coloring in his rhythm parts lightly, supporting the acoustic rhythm guitar. This is top notch folk-based pop, that builds a memorable atmosphere, rather than relying on a killer hook. On the other hand, "Air Companion" is a track that uses a quiet verse-more intense chorus to great effect and no wonder -- the song takes off, with Filla's voice powerful yet nuanced, riding the soaring melody: "Are you in love?/Then why are you so sad?/Are you in love/with a trick of the light?". This is a song begging to be covered -- is anyone reading this review friends with Bonnie Raitt? Annie Lennox?
However, "Le Fleur De Lys" can only belong to The Trolleyvox. The music is a spoonful of sugar to allow the bitter lyrics to go down easier. Chalfen's words are reminiscent of Elvis Costello when he was a really angry young man: "You're mending defenses/with anti-depressants/you've got yourself a Maginot Line." The song itself seems to be an 'I told you so' to a friend who got hitched to the highs school Big Man On Campus, and now things ain't so hot. The performance has a specific energy that is captivating. Maybe The Trolleyvox will be part of a vanguard of jangly bands with strong female vocalists. On the other hand, maybe the quality of this record might intimidate others, because they set a high standard here.Philadelphia Inquirer It's taken Andrew Chalfen a little while to hone the slightly melancholic, slightly '60s pop sound of Trolleyvox, and just as long for singer Beth Filla to find her comfort zone within Chalfen's wild, image-rich compositions. Leap of Folly finds each principal peaking right on time to serve astute odes to love and confusion. Some exude the finger-picked, front-porch vibe of early 10,000 Maniacs ("Dome of the Sky," the pensive "How You Gonna Get There"), while others are more droll. The tart "Town and Country," [sic] which tells of a "valedictorian kicking the door in," is one of several pieces in which Chalfen indulges his obvious love of Paul Simon and the Byrds without compromising his identity as a songwriter. City Paper By the time any given song on The Trolleyvox's second album reaches its chorus, Beth Filla's voice becomes a clarion call, only muted to soften the blows of the not-always-cheerful words coming out of her mouth. Her bright, clear vocals weave themselves in and out of Andrew Chalfen's carefully crafted compositions with ease. Chalfen, a meticulous songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, has made an album to start -- or end -- a love affair by ("It's a three-by-five of the state I'm in/ Taken of you when you weren't looking"). With clear-as-a-bell production that does everything to flatter it, Leap of Folly is a fine musical companion for the broken- and mending- hearted.