“Somewhere, frozen in deep space, is a pop group. Theyre called The
Original Doo-Wop Spacemen and they make mutated 50s pop music –
somewhere between the great American songbook and classic jukebox
tunes, then dipped in classic romance film scores before being lathered up
with prog-rock, jazz and psychedelia.
Theyre the brainchild of Oliver Taylor, frontman of Trudy and The Romance.
Or maybe theyre the characterised manifestation of several real-life
experiences. In either case, The Original Doo-Wop Spacemen are here, and
theyre playing on Trudy and The Romances debut album Sandman – a cosmic,
kaleidoscopic, merry-go-round of a record that is bursting with bright ambition.
While the intricate details of the narrative might be buried in the lyrics, under
layers of fuzz or light-years away, there is certainly a story here – a specific conceptual
idea. It involves the characters Little Johnny, frontman of The Original
Doo-Wop Spacemen, and Sweet Emma, his love.
The album takes cues from the golden age of Disney. Its also informed by Phil
Spector. For example, Liverpools very own Sense of Sound Choir sing on every
track, lending the album its woozy, encompassing feel.
Produced by David Pye (Wild Beasts, Egyptian Hip Hop), Sandman is unlike
anything youll hear in 2019, or the next lifetime. Look out for the Doo-Wop
Spacemen the next time you enter the astral plane. Theyll be performing their
alligator rock-n-roll for this generation, the one before it, and the rest to come.