The Trembling

“Playful pop punk” is risky; you can come off like a too late for the party k records fan or, worse, a nickelodeon buzz band. Detroit’s Trembling gets it right, however. This EP maintains a charmingly naive surface veneer, but lurking beneath the sing-songy vocals, jangle-fuzz guitars and sprinting rhythms is a well-oiled garage/punk band. Lead track “Catch Up” smears surftone organ all over the mix for that crucial nuggets effect, “Closet Slackers” throws some Superchunk-y attitude up in your face, and “Askin’ for it” suggests a female-fronted Buzzcocks (or a more ramshackle Sleater-Kinney). Six songs, no fluff.

-Fred Mills
- Magnet

The Trembling is yet another relatively young band hailing from Detroit, Michigan, but don’t be fooled by that description. This trio refuses to ape its hometown contemporaries, avoiding any garage rock bandwagon. Instead, The Trembling relishes much more perennial and perhaps classic sound: three-chord punk-pop. And who can resist such a timeless and catchy sugary-sweet confection?

Kelli Miller’s and Monday Busque’s vocals wrap around each other as part of the standard girl-punk sound but it’s Busque’s tight bass playing that is the band’s biggest draw. With its beaming and energetic hooks that hark back to a friendly, feminist ‘90s mosh pit, the trembling has an underdog spirit mixed with humor, especially when it name-checks its hometown. On “Dilapidate” Detroit is a “fucking cesspool” where “punk rock is out of place,” but so what? If you come to town, this trio would be happy to show you around.

-Karen Newman
- Venus

From the home of the Pistons and bad cars comes The Trembling with their brand of “snap, crackle, pop punk.” Singing about their boring town and teen-angst–even though I think they’re in their twenties–they have the makings to be a good band like The Bangs. Raw with energy and on the same label as The Hissyfits, they’re on their way to van tours across the country. The music video is kind of silly, but the fact that they even have one on the CD is funny.

-GR Staff
- Giant Robot

Several years into their musical journey, Detroit-based the Trembling unleash their latest and best release for the unassuming masses. Composed of Kelli Miller on guitar/vocals, Monday Busque on bass/keys/vocals and Jason Vast Binder-Sherman on drums, the Trembling offer up some of the coolest indie punk going across the ten tracks on Art for the Masses. Echoing past indie darlings like Park Ave. and early-Superchunk, the Trembling provide both female and male vocals – sometimes together and others times one dominant – to produce an enticing product. Admittedly, I have a soft spot in my heart for the Trembling’s sound. Probably the sweetest thing about the Trembling is that they come off like your favorite local band even if you are not from Detroit. That is, nothing is polished – either musically or production-wise – but their obvious attention to catchy riffs and vocals endear them immediately. It is also clear that the Trembling have become much better songwriters since their previous EP, as the songs have more texture and direction than past endeavors. The one knock that one could make against the Trembling is their preference for long drawn out punk numbers. For instance, several of the track reach five minutes and it is sometimes difficult to keep concentration and not get jaded by slow repetition. On certain songs, the Trembling are straight up Superchunk but with more of a pop edge – this is particularly the case on the terrific “Convenient Girlfriend” were Busque’s vocals are a dead ringer for Mac. And in that respect, the Trembling should think of relocating to the indie rock haven of Chapel Hill and help bring the scene back to the top. Other hot songs to take note of from Art for the Masses include “Critical,” “Follow the Lead,” the bass punk dribbling “The Street” and “Miserable Flight.” If you are looking for a new favorite local band that excels in indie punk then you can’t do much better than the Trembling. Hopefully, the Trembling will take more of their act on the road to the spread the gospel.

- Exoduster