Trigger Effect - What’s Left To Eliminate?

Gruff punk has elbowed its way into the relative mainstream of late with the likes of Polar Bear Club, A Wilhelm Scream and Hot Water Music taking the art of the gravel throated anthem to places that Leatherface could only have dreamed of. This is the landscape Trigger Effect find themselves in as they prepare to launch this, their second album upon the world, and from moment one it’s hard to stop one’s ‘oh that bit sounds like this band’ reflex going into overload. The opening brace of ‘A Genuine Emergency’ and ‘Voracity Just Can’t Be Beat’ feature melodic intonations that are more than a little reminiscent of the aforementioned ‘Wilhelm Scream but which don’t quite have the precision or pop nous of their Massachusetts contemporaries despite a surfeit of energy from all angles.


This is a theme that persists; spit and fire and fury is here in abundance but the songs themselves seem to flail and struggle rather than offering any killer blows. ‘A Quick Fix’ is just that, a sub-two minute blast of punk ‘n roll which is enjoyable enough, but feels a little lacking of the craftsmanship which would take it beyond adequate and into pretty good. That being said, the pieces of the jigsaw are definitely here - the sweet harmonised guitar parts on ‘What’s Left To Eliminate’ are enough to raise the pulse, while a No Trigger-esque vocal climax marks it out as one of the LP’s highlights. Unfortunately, it’s followed by the needlessly long mid-album slow-burner ‘Everything You Once Loved And Held Dear’ which is presumably intended to ‘break things up a little’ but in fact only robs the album of any forward momentum it might have gained. Not quite one step forward and two steps back, but close. 



In short, ‘What’s Left To Eliminate’ is full of lots of the things that one might love about punk, the anger, the speed, the grit but ultimately it all feels a little bit artless. Structurally it’s all over the shop and when they do manage to get their undoubted energy out of their engine and onto the tarmac you’re left with the nagging feeling that there are plenty of other bands out there doing this with a little more substance, flair and finesse. Brimming with potential but not quite there yet, unfortunately.