Madrid artist The Kiss That Took A Trip takes us on a sonic odyssey with his sprawling new opus ‘Victims of the Avantgarde’.
The Kiss That Took A Trip has released his latest album ‘Victims of the Avantgarde’, a love letter to the 90s that marks the Madrid artist’s first record since 2017.
The brainchild of founder and sole member M. D. Trello, The Kiss That Took A Trip is a one-man band formed in Madrid, circa 2006.
Almost a decade later and with multiple projects to his name, the genre-less maestro returns with a true opus in the form of his sprawling 12-track album.
Bound mostly by alt-rock and pop but sifting through TKTTAT’s years of experience in ambient and orchestral styles, the album opens with whirring synths of ‘(God Bless Our) Holy Highways’.
Coasting on crunchy percussive flairs and spacious ambience, the opener later forefronts TKTTAT’s haunting vocals, setting the stage for the vibrant production that’s still to come.
Perhaps the major drawcard of ‘Victims’ is its versatility, flitting between sounds and textures with a finesse that only a seasoned professional could muster.
He dips into glitchy synth-pop on ‘Sound and Immaculate’, before trying his hand at shoegaze sounds on album standout ‘Skull and Crossbones’.
That track — with its driving guitar melodies and pulsating percussion — showcases TKTTAT’s knack for rock flairs, but he isn’t about to be pinned down by any one sound.
‘The Truth About Lucifer’ offers shimmering string sections and a raw vocal performance, while ‘The Dallies’ feels like a ballad with its twinkly piano keys and rustic acoustic guitars.
Elsewhere, TKTTAT heads to new territories on ‘Wronged’, a jazzier track that might feel at home in a speakeasy — if that speakeasy was located at the end in a dark alleyway.
While it’s easy to be distracted by the kaleidoscopic production and commitment to diverse sounds, extra keen listeners will find even more within TKTTAT’s lyrics.
‘Blue Is The Flame’ sees the musician reflect on a “ruthless scavenger” and relent to feelings of wanderlust, before ‘Tears of a Demo’ lays bare TKTTAT’s thoughts on earning respect atop glittery sci-fi synths.
There’s a leisurely warmth to penultimate track ‘Velvet Wall’, which brims with sunlit guitar melodies and a message around life’s cruelness.
TKTTAT’s efforts culminate on album closer ‘Whoop Whoop! Pull Up!’, a slice of celestial ambience that delivers the sonic equivalent of journey through the cosmos.
Here, TKTTAT delivers his most confident vocal performance alongside ceremonial drum rolls, waxing philosophical on themes of unrequited love and how it’s “fucking tragic.”
It bookends the sonic journey taken on ‘Victims of the Avantgarde’, an album which emerges as the work of a truly singular artist.
Listen to The Kiss That Took A Trip’s latest album ‘Victims of the Avantgarde’ below.
