Total Tommy’s Trapezoid delivers a tracklist packed with gritty indie-rock odes to dark, classic cinema. Rugged guitar lines give the Sydney-based artist’s 11-track sophomore album momentum, driving friend- and silver-screen character-inspired lyrical narratives she sees within her own.
“Girl, Interrupted” establishes the album’s tense indie-rock sound immediately. Total tommy’s low, raspy, and occasionally obscure vocals fluctuate in impact with well-placed echoes and glitchy instrumentation. The song’s calculated yet unrestrained percussion crashes command the most attention, amplifying its on-edge sound.
Energetic “Pretty Little Mouth” keeps total tommy’s piercing lyricism and channels the opener’s big, agitated tone while introducing sonically sweeter moments. The emphatic bassline rattles to the point of distortion, only gaining softness when shiny guitar strikes and electronic flourishes even out the sound. Total tommy uses semi-hushed vocals that artfully overlap and echo, often resembling tracks across The Neighbourhood’s discography. While her voice sounds sugary and blurry, her writing builds crystal-clear visuals of a girl with “nicotine between her teeth, doused in kerosene” and suggests, “smoke wouldn’t leak through a pretty little mouth.”
Total tommy’s previous vocal sweetness takes on a measured tension in standout titular track “Trapezoid.” Throughout the artist’s signature rhyme-heavy structure and daring cadence choices, this catchy, guitar-driven dedication to a perfect-match person expresses unflinching self-deprecation. Total tommy’s skillful creative diligence shines in lines like, “Just a liability heading to the void. Every time you think of me, are you paranoid? Call it an anomaly, like a trapezoid.” The track’s most tangible descriptive work outlines the perspective of an almost familiar someone, whose self-criticism makes them outwardly and falsely use boredom as the reason for getting rid of careless tattoos.
“Gutterball” assumes a similar infectiousness and vulnerable lyricism while intensifying total tommy’s emphatic, punchy style. The echoing, synth-like guitar amplifies the pre-chorus, and the track’s thin, sharply metallic percussion complements its shouted background vocals. These elements become slightly distracting over time, but they effectively spotlight the speaker’s self-insulting comparisons; they see themselves as a “gutterball” with a “perfect strike” partner, who doesn’t like how they look but is “such a vision, a walking contradiction.”
Total tommy abandons the negative self-talk in favour of the more pleading and assertive tone on “Winona Forever.” A warm indie melody line and electronic blips cement the song’s coming-of-age-movie-level drama and intensity. While muddy to their detriment, the lyrics reference romantic obsession through nods to Winona Ryder’s role in the 1994 movie Reality Bites. These mentions seem vital, yet they get lost when the unassuming indie rock track turns into a perfect storm of wailing guitars and stylistically unaligned vocals.
While off-putting, the album’s vocals aren’t unaligned for long; “City of Mannequins” flaunts total tommy’s most varied and clear performance on the album. Simple, sticky rhyme schemes, dissonant guitar phrases, and overabundant distortion give the song earworm-inducing substance while leaving room for vocal flourishes. These take the form of clean octave hops and pleasantly breathy moments that contrast total tommy’s resonant main line.
“City of Mannequins” has the boldest voicework, but “Bloodshot” features musically complex emotional efficacy in every line. The album’s bouncy indie rock endures and entices, serving as a strong, highly textured foundation for bursts of tangible lyrics. Total tommy sings of feeling “shaken to the core, shell-shocked” and being “slow motion, too outspoken” while high clomps of percussion supply a welcome extra bite. “Bloodshot” seems aptly named because of its visceral, self-directed chill, and “Nosedive” follows suit, plunging straight into total tommy’s softest initial sound after an energetic song streak. While her vocals attract the most attention, each instrumental line could easily occupy the song’s centre; the strength and prominence of each element, from glitchy swipes of percussion to confident unity in overlapping rhythms, well support the song’s pure indie rock sound.
“Tearjerker” breaks up the stark variation among past tracks, but its grit and iciness compensate for its previously explored sound. The grinding guitar and joy-inducing rhyme scheme return but leave the listener wanting something more memorable.“Out Of Frame” sees total tommy add playfulness to a subdued version of the album’s core style. Kicking percussion and modest, edgy guitar surround campy lyrics that are embarrassingly enjoyable.
This guilty pleasure joy is short-lived, ending abruptly with the arrival of ominous closer, “Tailgate.” The track’s bass and slightly overpowering guitar lines create a foundation of intensely dark uneasiness. Its flow and slow-build structure add urgency, while its lyrics beg for willpower in the presence of a toxic, guarded person “luring” with a “candy” that’s irresistibly attractive. While this track’s extreme crescendos keep it captivating, packed rhythmic lines cause overwhelm and mixed feelings. This makes the album feel unfinished, despite its clean melodic resolution.
While it has noticeable thematic vagueness and unclear cinema references, Trapezoid deeply adheres to indie-rock sensibilities. It stands out through total tommy’s mood swing-like instrumentation, abrasive core, and simple lyricism with a maximalist emotional impact. In total tommy’s eyes, to truly know her is to know her movie muses and artistic vision, and by the end of this album, her personality seems as unavoidable and shining as Winona Ryder in the 80s.
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