Trudy and the Romance do it again. Speeding down a scorching-hot desert highway, “Sandman” rockets out of your speakers with a ruthless fury. Sloppy, dirty, and chockfull of chutzpah, this latest rendition of the band’s own original “50s mutant pop” genre plays like a mission statement. Trudy and the Romance are here to cause some mayhem, wreck some havoc, and have plenty of old fashioned fun.
This young and energetic band bends and blends genres to create one unique sound. They’re equal parts catchy, dangerous, and romantic. It seems to be a UK tradition carried on from The Jam with their mod-yet-punk attitude and aesthetic, sounding like they escaped from their parents’ garage. Then there’s The Libertines who led the garage-revival movement in the UK in the early 2000’s.
“Sandman” rollicks around a graveyard, decked out in ghoulish, half-dead 50s attire. Cymbals don’t crash so much as they explode; the lead singer doesn’t sing so much as he hollers. In less adventurous hands, this track may have fallen to the wayside, coming off as a flavor-of-the-week tune with nothing to it. Luckily, however, Trudy and the Romance know how to make a generally pop-ish rock and roll tune sound truly venomous.
In a time when most artists are painstakingly polishing their sound with a neon gloss, the grit and thunder of “Sandman” is incredibly refreshing. At the risk of sounding obsessive and overly enthusiastic: we need more Trudy and the Romance. Thankfully, they do pump out song after song on a consistent basis. We can expect more greatness.