„Trupa Trupa are an alternative psychedelic, garage rock band from Gdansk, Poland. Having released an EP in English in August 2010, Trupa Trupa have all the ingredients and talent to be a success overseas. What’s impressive about Trupa Trupa is how their raw songs give the retro sounds of the 60s and the grungy-post-punk sounds of the early oo’s a fresh, Indie make-over. With Grzegorz Kwiatkowski on vocals/guitars, Wojtek Juchniewicz on bass, Tomek Pawluczuk on drums and Rafał Wojczal on keyboards, Trupa Trupa are cool personified. They are the kind of band which effortlessly switches from oscillating riffs likened to The Rolling Stones and Caged The Elephant before bouncing back with more energised post-punk riffs.
They are a free-spirited band, whose wanderlust riffs yank and reverberate around the psychedelic swirls. With “Marmalade Sky”, you really hear how those farfisa wonky notes add that classic 60s,psychedelic, groovy vibe. It’s a robust stomper, whose farfisa tones dodge beneath the crashing and preening riffs. With its heavy, rolling bass and mercurial vocals “Marmalade Sky” is an edgy number, which is loosened by the dippy, lolly-pop psychedelia.
Likewise,“Leather Jesus” is an infectious song, which again illustrates Trupa Trupa’s skill at crafting a duality of thick and raw, staccato riffs. Synchronised with shaker percussions, it’s the zig–zag bass that pulls the song with a brisk pace. Along with singular drum stomps, “Leather Jesus” fuels with a sinewy determination. It’s also a song whose garage murkiness is modified through the quirky, poetic lyrics and engaging vocals, hallmarking “Leather Jesus” very much an original song.
Despite their fluency in English, Trupa Trupa have equally produced songs in their native Polish. Songs such as “Koszula w Kwiaty” and “Opór” are a testament that despite the language difference, Trupa Trupa a very much a musically accomplished band. Remaining rooted in their psychedelic, garage origins “Koszula w Kwiaty” twists and staggers with its crunchy riffs in juxtaposition against the sedated farfisa tones. What’s impressive about “Koszula w Kwiaty” is the fierce guitar interludes, that rotates, quivers and reverberates with its angular riffs, cutting to the core of the song.
Again, with “Opór”, you see how Trupa Trupo excel at drawn out intros and whose high standard is prolonged throughout. Despite it’s Kula Shaker-esque vocals, “Opór” remains loyal to post-punk with its crunchy, scratchy, suspended riffs, likened to early Sonic Youth. It’s also a song whose understated cymbals crash against the curling riffs building towards the frenzied crescendo, cementing “Opór” as a raw, adrenaline infused song.”
Donna Gorey, The Manc Review
