Triggers Vs. The Hush Sound

posted in: Features • Rock

In this week’s edition of Vs. we’ll be taking a look at Triggers and putting them up agains indie poppers The Hush Sound. Triggers hail from Pittsburgh, but have recently relocated to Los Angeles and have been causing a buzz with big shows at the Viper Room and the Hard Rock Cafe. Like The Hush Sound, Triggers make catchy and melodic pop music with an indie rock flavor. Triggers use crunchy, distorted guitars and soulful piano lines to create a driving and upbeat sound that is just simply fun to listen to. Their track “18 FPS” is a perfect example of their fun and catchy brand of indie pop. Piano chords and lead electric guitar lines propel the song forward, while Adam Rousseau’s smooth voice provides a vocal melody that will be stuck in your head for days.

“18 FPS” also shows another aspect of what sets Triggers apart from The Hush Sound; horn arrangements. The use of trumpets, trombones, and saxophones adds a whole different dimension to the band’s sound. On “18 FPS,” the horns echo the vocal melody as well as provide harmonizations during the chorus and part of the verses. The results make the song sound almost like swing, and it’s sure to get feet moving on the dance floor. In “She Had Me At Takeoff,” the horns are utilized perfectly for the chorus of the song. Using accented off beats, the horns create the perfect countermelody to the on-the-beat vocal melody.

This track also shows how Triggers use elements of new wave and post-punk in their music. “She Had Me At Takeoff” features a strong and distorted electric guitar melody, with a mixture of normal and falsetto vocals. The sound has definite ties to bands like The Cars and XTC, but with a much more modern pop edge. The new wave influence continues on “Ready Or Not,” but they mix it up by using an electric keyboard instead of a piano, and the keyboard gets the spotlight in this song. The fast keyboard melody and frantic drumming keep the song going at a quick pace during the intro, but the song slows down for the verse and the vocalists take the spotlight. Adam Rousseau and Brett Zoric trade lines during the verse, which leads to the climactic chorus. It really cannot be said enough how catchy these songs are. One or two listens and you will have every hook and melody already memorized. Triggers blend the modern and vintage to create a sound all their own.

Check out Triggers’ debut album Smoke Show, out now on Anomaly Records!