Even though it’s June, I’m suddenly experiencing an intense craving for longer nights and crisper temperatures, where the eeriness of Halloween permeates every corner of the city. This can only be explained by the chilling tone of the music I encountered last week, as I’m certainly not tanned enough to forgo the rest of summertime.
During Toronto’s annual North by Northeast music festival I ended up at West Queen West’s Wrongbar, a stop on my way home that proved to be one of the highlights of my concert-filled week. What I experienced inside was an unexpected goth-infused dreamy synth-duo called TRUST.
Robert Alfons’ vocals achieve the haunting allure of a Frakenstein’d Jim Morrison while harmonies echo from drummer Maya Postepki’s other-worldliness.
Their sound is intoxicating like pre-coital lust; like 6am sunrises through a deserted, sedated city.
Self-professed “Demon Pop/Witch Disco” is perfectly fitting, but with an added air of deceivingly guised electro. They embody a supernatural spirit that would astro-project to the most underground parties where guests are as elegant as they are dangerous.
The press on this twosome is frustratingly sparse, adding to their underground credit. Postepki can be seen with her solo project, Princess Century, also drawing from the darker nooks of musical experimentation, and perhaps surprisingly, she lends her talent to both Ontario group Bruce Peninsula and Toronto songstress Katie Stelmanis.
Despite being so different, when examined together the bands share the same enchanting, echoing vocals and layered sounds.
Although I am accustomed to Wrongbar hosting regulars on the electro-scene, TRUST had me captivated.
It was dark and brooding with the right element of dance that had everyone on their feet instead of slumped in a corner couch. The pairing of Postepki and Alfons is a match made in heaven; a heaven that has Spanish moss for clouds and cloaks in the place of wings.
Despite this imagery, their sound is unexpectedly uplifting, which is putting them at the forefront of my new favorite niche. It’s no surprise that TRUST is involved with Mikey Apples, Crystal Castles’ former manager, a group that also has a unique, genre-blending vibe that airs on the side of abrasive, dark electro.
This Toronto duo is like the trick and treat of this field. They sound dangerous and spooky while luring you in, tearing you between a dancey high and an intoxicating low. I suggest keeping an eye on their exploits and entering their next show with a preparedness to fall in ghostly lust.
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