Trailer Bride by Trailer Bride
Trailer Bride’s 1996 self-titled record is a long-lost relic of the blooming Chapel Hill, North Carolina music scene of the ‘90s. Superchunk, Polvo, Archers of Loaf and other indie rock darlings were leading the town’s indie rock movement while Southern Culture on the Skids were pushing the alt-country genre forward. Then comes Trailer Bride who combined both of those worlds with a gothic, lo-fi sound that centers around Melissa Swingle’s atmospheric vocals and cryptic lyrics. Swingle started Trailer Bride following the demise of her band Pussy Teeth and would later go on to form the indie rock duo The Moaners with Laura King (Bat Fangs, Speed Stick), but the dark, southern sound that defines Trailer Bride’s debut record provides a mystifying listening experience a quarter-century later. No Depression said it best in their 1997 review: "They’re impossible to describe, but whatever you wanna call it, they sound really good.”
Tracklist
| 1. | Sorry Times | 3:12 |
| 2. | Mardi Gras | 3:32 |
| 3. | Let Mama Drive | 3:33 |
| 4. | Rouge | 2:53 |
| 5. | Arrowheads | 4:20 |
| 6. | Road to Canaan | 3:15 |
| 7. | Trailer Bride | 3:43 |
| 8. | Maudlin | 3:07 |
| 9. | Landyacht Take Me Home | 2:35 |
| 10. | Chatham Co. Militia | 2:58 |
| 11. | Sway | 2:57 |
| 12. | Flying Saucer | 2:56 |
| 13. | Trains at Night | 4:18 |
Credits
1996 Melissa Swingle under exclusive license to Yep Roc, LLC.
Robert Mitchener: bass
Brad Goolsby: drums
Bryon Settle: fancy guitar, shaker thingamajigger on “Road to Canaan”
Melissa Swingle: singing, slide guitar, harmonica, foot-pedal organ, electric, acoustic guitar
Engineered and mixed by Bryon Settle and Mike Beard
Mastered at THE KITCHEN, Chapel Hill, N.C. by Brent Lambert
Amy Sharp (Melissa’s little sister): backing vocals on “Sorry Times,” “Let Mama Drive” and “Chatham Co. Militia”
Joanne Ramsey: backing vocals on “Sway”
Mike Beard: tambourine, jaw harp
Recorded at YELLOW RECORDING except for “Maudlin” and “Trains at Night” recorded on a cheap 4-track in the middle of the night in the Swingle bathroom
Artwork: Swingle
Produced by Elmo & the Cheeseman and Mrs. Swingle
License
All rights reserved.Tags
One gets the sense that, while they might not have seen Robert Johnson make his bargain with the devil, Trailer Bride may have been around when the deal went bad and debts were collected. Trailer Bride is the band for the tragic, flawed figure in all of us: reaching for the heavens while keeping one eye on the gutter.