Different Stars

Trespassers William | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 19, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nettwerk Records
• ASIN: B00030M7SU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,558 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

The words "melancholy" and "ethereal" have been used to describe trespassers william, and are not typical descriptions for bands from sunny orange county.

Standing out from the pop and punk that dominate the landscape, the band (featuring matt brown on guitar, trinidad sanchez III on bass, and jamie williams on drums) brings their diverse influences together to create a mix of indie/singer-songwriter/folk/shoegaze.

Often compared to mazzy star, red house painters, and coldplay – the band creates lush soundscapes to house anna-lynne williams delicate vocals and haunting songs. Formed in 1997, the band has their second record done called "different stars" and are currently looking for a home for it.

name dropping: performed with: the cranes, brmc, aimee mann, ron sexsmith, squeeze, david gray and the autumns

tube: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" MTV's the Real World and Road Rules KOCE (PBS) Sound Affects

stage: el rey, roxy, galaxy, coach house, troubadour, whiskey, etc

second best: 2002 orange couny music awards: "best indie band" and "best song": nominee

1999 lilith fair talent search: finalists

1998 orange county register top 10 albums Tuesday, April 3, 2001

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smooth as an espresso martini, March 2, 2006

By 

Rich Hoyland "Rich Hoyland" (Charleston, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Different Stars (Audio CD)

Too often, I arrive at an Amazonian description and find People Preaching To The Converted reviews ("what would Jesus do...? Well, He couldn't do better than this masterpiece, it's Sgt. Pepper meets Nevermind meets Songs in the Key of Life, and John Lennon would've given his left n*t to write this stuff") or The Other Side of The Coin review ("I bought this POS on someone's recommendation, and it was SO F-ING BAD, I shot the person who recommended it and left 'im for dead...buzzards gotta eat, same as the worms...").

(...melodramatic pause...)

If you enjoy dream pop, spend your money here. It's a cousin to Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You", but better, since Anna-Lynne Williams has more bite to her voice (check out how she phrases the word "burns" in the lyric "when the house burns down" on the glorious "Alone"), and this album boasts a superior number of "(g)ently mesmerizing ... haunting" songs by comparison to "So Tonight That I Might See" (the standouts, in order: Alone, Fragment, Lie in the Sound, Different Stars, Vapour Trail. I repeat, these are the standouts, not a roster of The Only Good Songs).

A closer analogy is the sound of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game", but with the guitars turned way way up, past Jangling, past Gleaming Byrd-like twelve-string, past Reverberating, all the way to Shimmering (plus, at times, you get delicate piano, like all the piano hammers had been fitted with booties knitted by your sweet ole Grandma). It has that echoing Western Landscape night-time feel (whadda want, I'm not getting paid to write this). The sound is so lush, if you transmitted it to orbiting satellites and beamed it back to Earth, you'd get world peace.

No, really.

In short, this is the sort of thing for people who like this sort of thing.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Haunting and deeply affective..., February 6, 2003

By 

Matthew (Pittsburgh) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Different Stars (Audio CD)

I was moved considerably by the earnest, heartfelt vocal delivery of Anna-Lynne Williams on the band's debut, and found their style of sincere, passionate music, which mixes elements of indie, shoegaze, and acoustic folk, to be a refreshing and mature alternative to what I was more accustomed to reviewing and listening to.

My response to the band's sophomore material was just as ecstatic, and in some respects, I was even more impressed. Though "Anchor" had quite a few confessional down tempo ballads, there were also a few catchier and playful tracks to keep the CD from being too emotionally overbearing for lighter hearted listeners. This time around, the band appears to be in more sullen spirits, for a consistent tone of heartache permeates the entire disc. Not that this is a bad thing, mind you! After the slightly more varied moods on "Anchor," Trespassers could have gone either way and written more commercially viable material or they could have concentrated on producing tracks with a more resolute melancholy. I am glad they chose the latter, because it suits them better and the overall result is a poignant and sophisticated album that will still appeal to a broad audience of music fans. The spectrum of emotion encompassed on this disc is something that any sensitive person can easily relate to. It's reflective, quiet music for those moments when everything else seems so silly and contrived. This is just real, organic music performed by confident and mature songwriters, straightforward and stripped of any pretense.

The disc opens with a short intro that is comprised of hypnotic swells of gorgeous guitar flanges, which immediately anticipates the essence of tender sadness that characterizes the entire album. This transcendent introduction gives way to the light acoustic chord strums and reverberated slide guitars of "Lie In The Sound," the CDs first proper track. Like the title appropriately suggests, the listeners are meant to release themselves, and do just that: `lie in the sound' and bask in the warm encompassing beauty of this band. Anna-Lynne's pleading alto adds the final touch, as she croons the song's initial verses "I love you more than I should / so much more than what is good for me." Light percussion is introduced, as additional tracks of atmospheric guitar effects build to the reach the chorus, which perfectly characterizes the band's multi-layered sound. Acoustic guitars strum beneath a shower of jangling clean electric arpeggios, while melodies are often accented by loose echoing piano chords and guitar slides. Haunting and affective, stark organic simplicity never sounded so serene.

Perhaps the album's strongest track appears fourth on the disc. Entitled "Alone," the song is a blissful marriage of rhythmic indie rock and hints of a slight alt.country twang. A mid-paced rhythm produced by light rim shots and a lulling bass line is at the heart of the song's beginning and verses, while fantastic echo guitars add a perfect shade of bluesy gloom. Matt Brown's fluid and ethereal soloing on this track is a worthy nod to the unique guitar style of U2's The Edge. When the song explodes into it's tight and rhythmic chorus, the strong drum cascades also recall U2 and some of the best work on "The Joshua Tree" (the climactic finale of "With Or Without You" in particular). Anna-Lynne's voice crowns the song with her vulnerable crooning, so that in the end the song is just a perfect, memorable and driving example of emotional indie rock.

"Let You Down" is among the best of the entirely acoustic based tracks, with subtle tones produced by what sounds like an accordion, murky pianos, and other assorted guitar effects. Her breathy alto is riddled with striking `pinches' of painful regret, culminating in a thoroughly enchanting and moving vocal delivery. A swampy tribute to their heroes U2 is solidified with the band's stark interpretation of "Love Is Blindness." By far the album's darkest track, it is fraught with a tense, dreary claustrophobia that will surely appeal to fans of female fronted acts like Mira, The Sundays, and the like. "Flicker" lightens the tone somewhat, by offering more tight but simpler drumming. Nice layers of guitar, and Anna-Lynne seems to let go a little more on this track, revealing more of the softer, higher tones that her voice is capable of reaching.

"Just Like This" also stands out, showing the band doesn't lose creative momentum toward the end of the CD. Reverberated drums and subdued electronics create a stark backdrop for some of Anna-Lynne's most expressive vocal melodies this time around. The accents of guitars are dejected, haunting, and beautifully bleak, providing suitable accompaniment and fleshing things out to result in a fine, fine track.

The album concludes with a massive untitled conclusion, that sounds as if it is three songs rolled up into one cohesive whole. The first third is a lighter ballad that builds to an atmospheric interlude created by washes of harmonizing guitar effects. Transcendent and dreamlike, this wistful interval gives way to the somber, minimalism of a wounded girl and her guitar for the hidden track "What Could I Say." Anna-Lynne's final performance is commanding and highly expressive, as she seems to confess in defeat "I told you everything I knew/I tore my pockets out and I gave them all to you/you hold my throat like a violin/I never want to be held again...'cause there's nobody like you."

The final few moments of "Different Stars" takes the air right out of the discerning listener's lungs. When you finally catch your breath and the chills recede, a feeling of profound satisfaction washes over you and you feel grateful for having experienced this album.

*

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking Album, March 22, 2005

By 

VALDIS J RIEKSTINS (Bothell, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Different Stars (Audio CD)

Anybody who is a fan of Mazzy Star (or now, Hope Sandoval gone solo), or Innocence mission, or Low would love this album. Swooning melodies and beautiful, etherial vocals drawn out in long echos make up the bulk of this album, of which I just can't say enough good things about.