18 March 2023 – single review by DAMIEN
It’s 8am on a Thursday, and I am making the morning commute along the Ipswich Motorway to my regular 9-5 job. Judging by the slow pace of traffic and the several hundred cars around me, I’m obviously not alone in this experience.
Fittingly, it is in this moment that I decide to throw on the debut single from Brisbane two-piece, Trim Reaper, titled ‘Modest Salary’, which, as the name suggests, speaks directly into the day-to-day struggle of trying to get by on an average wage.
(In fact, as I write this review, I have just had to fork out several hundred dollars to buy a new washing machine and am now wondering how I’m going to make ends meet between now and payday, so I am particularly feeling the line ‘I’m broke on a modest salary’ at present.)
Stepping back from my current washing-machine woes, a little about Trim Reaper. The duo is a post-punk influenced act, featuring Matthew Somers (of I Heart Hiroshima fame) and producer Michael Hardy. I liken their sound to acts like Super Massive and Sailing in Space, and would highly recommend fans of those bands to take a moment to give Trim Reaper a spin.
Modest Salary is immediately captivating, opening with a flurry of noise before launching into a bass groove that will shake your ass for days. The drum rhythms are particularly uplifting, and my head is involuntarily bopping along whilst my fingers tap the steering wheel of my Camry.
Initially the vocal struck me as slightly thin and lo-fi on first listen. However, on subsequent listens it communicated a gritty, working class and exasperated vibe, akin to the felt experience of forcing oneself to conjure the energy to work a job that drains one of all life force only to earn enough money to keep you fed and sheltered through the night in order to return to the same job tomorrow, and now, on my umpteenth listen, I can’t imagine the vocals being any more perfect for this track. In fact, there is something very Brit-Pop about the delivery which is ALWAYS an uber cool vibe.
The electronic elements of ‘Modest Salary’ also sit very neatly in the production and create a wonderful juxtaposition in comparison to the message of the lyric. This song moves your body in the most delightful of ways, whilst simultaneously giving language to the constant fear that on any given day we might be on the brink of destitution.
You’re feeling that too, right?
Perhaps the most surprising feature of this track is the length. Coming in at 5minutes and 14 seconds, Trim Reaper have bucked current trends by delivering a tune that is almost twice a long as anything sitting on the Aria Charts at present.
And I for one am thankful for that.
At no point does ‘Modest Salary’ feel like its dragging or needlessly repeating. The song is magnificently crafted from start to finish and massages both ears and mind as it progresses, giving the listener a much needed respite from the mundane of the current cost of living crisis.
I may only be on a modest salary, but I am feeling all the much richer for listening to Trim Reaper today.
Listen to MODEST SALARY
