Hailing from Bristol, Trust Fund– a collaborative project fronted by Ellis Jones, are DIY in every sense; from bedroom-recording to album artwork that looks like it was made on Microsoft Paint.
Having toured with Los Campesinos! and released a split 12” with Joanna Gruesome, Trust Fund seemed to make a bit of a name for themselves last year. The heavy anticipation of the release of their debut album howeverwas overshadowed by its potential to disappoint: thankfully it didn’t.
Jones’ falsetto vocals, beneath the scuzzy pop guitar riffs, are easily passed by, but when listened to they attentively paint a collage of anxiety, heartbreak and pessimism.
That said, the cliché of the self-deprecating lo-fi indie pop record is absent, as Jones’ focus appears to be on the unhappiness of the people around him rather than himself, possibly shying away from the honesty of his own emotions. Most explicitly, on album opener ‘Sadness’, Jones sings: “You are calling me to tell me…/that you don’t want to die anymore/that you don’t want to die but you did before”. ‘Idk’ carries on mid break-up, this time in conversation and harmony with Roxy Brennan, accompanied for the only time by a subtle, yet effective, acoustic guitar. Perhaps the only flaw is that Brennan’s vocals aren’t so regular. Nevertheless, when she does crop up, her addition only makes Jones’ songs stronger.
‘January’, with its solid chorus build-up and jangly guitars, is undoubtedly the best song on the album. Again, Jones explores the emotions of others as he sings: “It seems like all our friends are having such a bad year./ And it’s only January”.
‘Cut Me Out’ and ‘Essay to Write’ are the obvious singles on the album and released prior to the album, they certainly give a good representation of No One’s Coming For Us as a whole. In fact, it’d be true to say that most songs on the album sound similar, but when the sound is good, the similarity isn’t exactly a flaw.