Photo: Anna Smith
Much like the travellers of yesteryears, Trampolene are the captains of their own ship. Steering the vessel from Swansea to North London’s Hornsey the trio have blazed their own trail to become a vital Welsh export.
Tonight is no mean feat for the three-piece – it’s their biggest headline show to date in the capital, and to celebrate they’re playing their soon-to-drop debut album Swansea To Hornsey in full. It’s a mix of captivating poetic jaunts and electrifying rock ‘n’ roll.
With support coming from the grunge tinged Calva Louise, boisterous Essex quartet Breed and the exhilarating False Heads who deliver a blistering performance worthy of their own headline show, it’s not long before Jack Jones saunters on stage in a brown faux fur jacket. On first impression it doesn’t quite resemble the rock star character we’ve come to recognise him as. Opening the set gently with the spoken word track ‘Artwork of Youth’ it’s not long before the frontman is humouring the central London crowd with witty anecdotes such as, “my gran is banned from driving because she takes all of my points for me” and, “have you ever seen a better start to a gig?” as technical issues threaten to delay the beginning of the show.
Jones’ stage presence is endearing as, alongside the other two members, Wayne Thomas on bass and Rob Steele on drums, they weave their way through their first LP which drops next month. ‘Alcohol Kiss’ is as visceral and bolshy as it sounds on record, if not even more heightened due to the momentous occasion, whilst fan favourite poem ‘Ketamine’ is an illustrative ode to the class B drug and ‘Pound Land’ brings the evening to a poignant end. Reflecting on Trampolene’s lyricism it’s clear the trio have a lot to say and you’d be silly not to listen.
