Trends' starry eyed "Branches" erupts in dreamy ways

AP Track Review

The track Branches by L.A. based Trends and from their debut album "Palettes" starts off all starry eyed with slow motion guitar picking and drum splashes as Marina Paiz's vox dreamily wanders until it erupts. The eruption with heavy bass, syncopated driving guitar and drum driven little proggy pushes happens as the vox harmonies layer in with synth lines. It feels celebratory but still kind of sad and proto punkish with dynamically jazz band finished indie rock flourishes too. It gets daydreamy again, suddenly so. Nice. 
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Robb Donker






THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:

Trends never die. Social and cultural phenomena always cycle back again and again. And artists with a vital creative core can embrace the waves without getting swept away by the tide of changing tastes.

LA-based alt-rock quartet Trends have forged one of those intrepid indie-rock identities that allow ample wiggle room for artistic adventurousness. Essential to this feeling of unbridled creativity are the deep cultural ties and friendships within the band. Today, Trends shares its colorful collective musicality via its debut album, Palettes, to be preceded by the single “Branches.”

“Our band name is a play on the fact that trends are an everlasting concept—if something falls out of favor, it comes back 20 years later,” explains Marina Paiz, the band’s lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist. “This speaks to our music being open-ended. It will always be us playing the music, but we will allow things to change over time.”

Trends cites diverse inspirations such as Radiohead, The Strokes, Art Blakey, Warpaint, and The Killers. The constants in this list are artists who created music that is accessible, exploratory, and ever-evolving. Trends has featured in LA Record, Impose Magazine, and LA Weekly, among other outlets. The band’s debut album, Palettes, is produced by Andrew Murdock (Godsmack, Avenge Sevenfold, Alice Cooper).

In addition to Marina, Trends features drummer Karen Moreno; lead guitarist and backing vocalist Abraham Urias; and bassist Jose Valiñas. Deep Latino roots bond the band members. “I think our cultural backgrounds have influenced our band relationships,” Marina says. “Latino culture emphasizes and prioritizes the concept of family, and that connection is very much at the heart of how we connect and interact as a band.”

Trends evolved from Marina’s lo-fi solo project to a fiery collaborative collective while she was studying music at a local college. While there, Marina met Karen, a prodigiously talented jazz drummer. “I didn’t like her at first, she was super happy and super loud,” Marina recalls, laughing. Acquaintances pushed the pair on each other and finally Marina softened when she was looking for a drummer. “I still made her audition,” Marina says playfully.

Karen brought Abe into the fold, and the group began rehearsing daily from 6 PM to 1 AM for the first year. “Even on our time off, we found we would go to each other’s houses,” Marina shares. Karen adds: “It always felt like a family—we’re there for each other and we care for each other.”

Trends’ leadoff single, Branches, from its debut album, Palettes, is an imaginatively-arranged 5-minute indie-rock odyssey. The song’s dynamic music arc spans clean-textured guitar and atmospheric musicality, explosive drums, layers of airy harmony vocals, jagged art-rock guitar motifs, and serene sing-along passages.

The song uses branches as a metaphor for relationships. For Marina, it’s a coming of age theme as she chose to pursue music while many of her friends ventured off to school or onto more well-trodden life paths. “I don’t have a Plan B. I’m the one still here; I’m the only one in a band,” she says. “So, this song is about letting go, and just feeling sadness during a time when relationships and friendships feel distant. Even when people branch out we are still connected to this trunk.”