Trent Takes To The Top ...

Posted on the 06 February 2014 by Tlb Music Blog @TLB_Blog
Sometimes we receive tweets and emails from people who are, without naming any names at all, pretty horrendous ... so it is nice to see that, every once in a while, you'll receive something that is genuinely pleasing to the ears, and in this case, genuinely pleasing to the wallet too. Jeff Trent has shown up with his new single, Thief In The Choir, and is offering it for free to anyone and everyone!
There are a few things we'd change about Jeff and the way he goes about music, but we'll begin with the plusses ... and there are plenty of them in this nifty little single. The first things you'll hear are the synths that are reminiscent of Coldplay's last offering; but these soon become a thing of the past when an interesting, catchy, and bassy riff take place. From then on, your attention has been grasped, and it is very hard to come free.
The vocal soon follows, and whilst you'll notice that it is not the most technically advanced voice in the industry, it is relatively sweet, and somehow, comparisons to The Mighty Boosh came about (except when the effects came in, then it seemed much more professional). This plunders on for some time, but manages to keep your attention with its sweetness, lightness, and unorthodox presence of energy.
The fact that this is free is an absolute beauty, and actually makes it even more appealing. There are plenty of elements throughout that will very much keep you engaged and keep you wanting more ... however, there are a few bits and pieces that we'd like to have more from.
As silly and pernickety as this may sound, Jeff Trent, as a stage name, doesn't really represent charisma, energy, or passion ... with music that shows real experimentation and a keen ear for things that sound brilliant, we think the name Trent (on its own), as an example, sounds much more appealing.
Furthermore, and whilst we have also given this praise, the vocal sections, sometimes, do need a little more umph. We love it in this track, don't get us wrong, but we feel that Trent's career could go a little pear-shaped if the same thin vocal range were to be used throughout his whole repertoire. To better himself, a larger range should be used, and mixed about with ... there's no issue with voice changing effects here, as long as they sound realistic (and can physically be emulated to some extent when live)
We think this is a truly brilliant effort, and will be keeping an eye on our man Trent from now onwards ... but we hope he takes into consideration our little critiques, and cannot wait to hear some more!
Paul.