"Till I convince myself that you're on my side / Till I can't keep track when I'm looking back / It's gonna hurt sometimes / But that's loving baby / I only mean one thing when I wear that ring..."
The slippery sort of goth-psych iterations like bent 'native jazz' rhythms on "Lamentations" by the imaginative indie rock American Trappist feel organically tribal like a ceremony to conjure up spirits of love and longing.
"Every moment I tried to be a little more like
And I held her breath deep within my breast
It's gonna hurt sometimes
But that's living baby
I've only got one chance to bet our love against"
Philadelphia-based band elevate the first release of their fourth full-length album, "Poison Reverse" (set to drop on June 9th, 2023) with a fiery, trippy Official Video.
And I held her breath deep within my breast
It's gonna hurt sometimes
But that's living baby
I've only got one chance to bet our love against"
Philadelphia-based band elevate the first release of their fourth full-length album, "Poison Reverse" (set to drop on June 9th, 2023) with a fiery, trippy Official Video.
About the track:
“‘Lamentations’ is about coming out to my partner.” explains bandleader Joe Michellini. “We had a really hard time at first. We are so in love and were simultaneously realizing that the shape of our love and our relationship had been predefined for us. We desperately wanted to break free from that and redefine our partnership but it wasn’t easy and has taken many hours in therapy for both of us. Anyone who grew up in the church and has already done this work can relate. I also had some anxiety about engaging with my full self as a non-binary person. I didn’t have answers. I wasn’t sure who I would be if I was really honest with myself. I’m still working on that. The only thing I could promise was change, and that I loved my partner. I knew she was processing things in her own way but so desperately I wanted this person who was so close to me to be able to comfort me as well. That’s a lot to ask of her, and so there’s an inherent loneliness that comes from all of this, even though you’re working through it together. ‘Lamentations’ is about that feeling.”
"It's an endless pool
And the water is cool
You know I had my doubts
But now I can't get out
I want to promise you
But it would never come true
I'll stop changing when
Then I'll change again"
I love the atmospheres here, post punk romance on high but maybe even an heartland rock underpinning. I love the vocal countenance, the character of Michellini's voice drenched in pain, passion and romance. Those tom toms and essentially a stripped down sound made me think of an odd array of artists I used to see back in the day (way back in the day) like Bates Motel and, oddly enough, The Motels as well as Oingo Boingo. I thought of Gleaming Spires as well and Human Sexual Response (Land of the Glass Pinecones filtered in my head for some ungodly reason). LOVE, love the guitar work here, the sonics are amazing.
And the water is cool
You know I had my doubts
But now I can't get out
I want to promise you
But it would never come true
I'll stop changing when
Then I'll change again"
I love the atmospheres here, post punk romance on high but maybe even an heartland rock underpinning. I love the vocal countenance, the character of Michellini's voice drenched in pain, passion and romance. Those tom toms and essentially a stripped down sound made me think of an odd array of artists I used to see back in the day (way back in the day) like Bates Motel and, oddly enough, The Motels as well as Oingo Boingo. I thought of Gleaming Spires as well and Human Sexual Response (Land of the Glass Pinecones filtered in my head for some ungodly reason). LOVE, love the guitar work here, the sonics are amazing.
American Trappist sounds a bit sideways to me. I mean that as a compliment.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4Y47z5CjgOKtLWQIWoL7vb
https://www.instagram.com/itsatrappe/
https://twitter.com/itsatrappe
https://amtrappe.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/americantrappist
American Trappist is the solo project of songwriter Joe Michelini. Currently based in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Michelini grew up in a conservative family on the Jersey shore where he cut his chops as a musician playing piano, cello, and listening to contemporary Christian music. It wasn’t until his teens that Michelini started listening to rock. At sixteen years old, Michelini was hospitalized where a pharmacist at the hospital turned him onto Arcade Fire and My Morning Jacket—the rest is history. After an eight year stint in the nationally recognized band, River City Extension, Michelini did some traveling throughout Europe and got deeply into Leonard Cohen. Around that time, Michelini started dreaming up a solo project, and American Trappist was born.
Alongside his band, Michelini is getting ready to release his third full length as American Trappist, The Gate. Featuring Shane Luckenbaugh on drums, Leiwe II on bass, and Max Kulckie on guitar The Gate is an incredibly personal piece of music that deals very explicitly with Michelini’s struggles with depression and how that has manifested as he’s grown up. “In my late twenties, touring slowed down, and a lot of the issues I had with depression as a kid caught up with me. This record is about dealing with depression as an adult and trying to move on with my life,” says Michelini. The album clocks in at 11 songs, each as careful and beautiful as the next. Told through brilliantly arranged layers of guitar reverb, think of The Gate as a sort of hybrid of the gritty dissonance of Sonic Youth, and the lyrical tenderness and honesty of someone like Conor Oberst or Jason Molina. On the expertly conceived “Moses (Revisited),” Michelini writes incisive lyrics like “Ask me how I felt/living like I was my future on the run,” as a tight bass groove bubbles to the surface, guitars duel with bluesy precision, and vocals grow loud and defiant. The gorgeous and meandering “Natural Causes,” features stellar moments of delicately arranged strings by Michelini’s friend Muccino, and “The Real Thing,” is laden with cosmic synthesiser warble.
Recorded at Michelini’s home studio, Berlin Studios, The Gate is co-engineered by Jackie Milestone (Hop Along, Adult Mom) and mastered by Alan Douches (Angel Olsen, Ratboys) in New York. The album also features contributions from vocalist Lily McKown, and strings by Lyle de Vitry and Jordan Rast. The record is uncompromising in its vision and is the product of trust and honesty. Listening to The Gate is like looking directly into Michelini’s soul. You’ll be glad that you did.
-Sophie Kemp
https://www.instagram.com/itsatrappe/
https://twitter.com/itsatrappe
https://amtrappe.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/americantrappist
American Trappist is the solo project of songwriter Joe Michelini. Currently based in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Michelini grew up in a conservative family on the Jersey shore where he cut his chops as a musician playing piano, cello, and listening to contemporary Christian music. It wasn’t until his teens that Michelini started listening to rock. At sixteen years old, Michelini was hospitalized where a pharmacist at the hospital turned him onto Arcade Fire and My Morning Jacket—the rest is history. After an eight year stint in the nationally recognized band, River City Extension, Michelini did some traveling throughout Europe and got deeply into Leonard Cohen. Around that time, Michelini started dreaming up a solo project, and American Trappist was born.
Alongside his band, Michelini is getting ready to release his third full length as American Trappist, The Gate. Featuring Shane Luckenbaugh on drums, Leiwe II on bass, and Max Kulckie on guitar The Gate is an incredibly personal piece of music that deals very explicitly with Michelini’s struggles with depression and how that has manifested as he’s grown up. “In my late twenties, touring slowed down, and a lot of the issues I had with depression as a kid caught up with me. This record is about dealing with depression as an adult and trying to move on with my life,” says Michelini. The album clocks in at 11 songs, each as careful and beautiful as the next. Told through brilliantly arranged layers of guitar reverb, think of The Gate as a sort of hybrid of the gritty dissonance of Sonic Youth, and the lyrical tenderness and honesty of someone like Conor Oberst or Jason Molina. On the expertly conceived “Moses (Revisited),” Michelini writes incisive lyrics like “Ask me how I felt/living like I was my future on the run,” as a tight bass groove bubbles to the surface, guitars duel with bluesy precision, and vocals grow loud and defiant. The gorgeous and meandering “Natural Causes,” features stellar moments of delicately arranged strings by Michelini’s friend Muccino, and “The Real Thing,” is laden with cosmic synthesiser warble.
Recorded at Michelini’s home studio, Berlin Studios, The Gate is co-engineered by Jackie Milestone (Hop Along, Adult Mom) and mastered by Alan Douches (Angel Olsen, Ratboys) in New York. The album also features contributions from vocalist Lily McKown, and strings by Lyle de Vitry and Jordan Rast. The record is uncompromising in its vision and is the product of trust and honesty. Listening to The Gate is like looking directly into Michelini’s soul. You’ll be glad that you did.
-Sophie Kemp
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