Transit of Venus

The Trolleyvox Presents The Karaoke Meltdowns is the 3rd full-length CD from Philadelphia’s The Trolleyvox and features Beth Filla’s gorgeous lead vocals and Andrew Chalfen’s typically outstanding guitar work and memorable song-writing. Produced by longtime Trolleyvox producer/collaborator Adam Lasus (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Lilys, Helium, Yo La Tengo, Hartley Goldstein) and Brian McTear (Mazarin, Bitter Bitter Weeks, The Pernice Brothers) these rich and melodic sonic journeys take on topics that cover all sorts of modern-day meltdowns – emotional, spiritual, relationship, political, societal, technological …

More rocking than their critically acclaimed 2nd album Leap of Folly, Karaoke Meltdowns comprises 13 hook-filled, soon-to-be-classics of melancholy, freak-out and lusciousness. If Chrissy Hynde and Bob Mould jammed with the Byrds, or if Pete Townshend and Mitch Mitchell had joined Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn in early Everything But The Girl they might have sounded something like The Trolleyvox. Gorgeous lead and harmony vocals atop rich layers of arpeggiated guitars, percussion and piano deliver emotionally potent songs with winding melodies that worm their way into your brain and don't let go.  In a departure for Chalfen – who is best known for writing about personal issues like romance, friendship and regret Karaoke Meltdownsfeatures several numbers that directly address current political and social issues.

The album opener, “Just You Wait” features a blast of Ken Buono’s drums and Andrew’s guitar supporting Filla’s clarion-call vocals, warning us that the Bush administration’s domestic, foreign and environmental policies may lead to a “meltdown” of catastrophic proportions. The song has been adapted into a viral video by noted documentary film-maker Marc Brodzik (Hard Coal, My Name Is Darren) and can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdNb6nbOzZ8. “I Am Annabelle” tells a tale of teenage manic enthusiasm in the age of the internet. “Onion is Missing,” with its siren-like guitars, ringing piano and lush harmony vocals creates a mood of apprehension and longing that evokes the uncertainty of post 9-11 life – “What do I do now/Sirens on the way down/Like crickets in the grass/The solid and the liquid and the gas.” Chalfen takes lead vocal duties on “Joyride,” his lyrics grappling with the dilemma of embracing spirituality when deity allows so much pain and suffering – “Selfish and capricious with the tyrants and the cholera/Stingy with the spark that could ignite the good in all of us/God save all tomorrow/Oh please give your hand to the rising of the sun.”  The driving “Whisper Down The Lane” melds special guest Pat Berkery’s (Bigger Lovers, The Pernice Brothers) rock-solid drumming with Owen Biddle’s grooving bass line to ignite the fuse of a song about truth and distortion.

Karaoke Meltdowns never bogs down in political diatribe – songs are topical, but Chalfen’s deft lyrical hand allows him to paint on a canvas that is much larger than the immediate topic, bringing universality to these songs.