34 Trolley

Relaxation EP (2024)

John Gentile

Rhythm and beats is the name of the game for 34 Trolley. Relaxation is the debut release for the project headed by drummer Jarrett Dougherty of the now defunct Screaming Females. Unlike other drummers who go “solo” and seek to be “more than just a drummer”- ala Keith Moon or Phil Collins- Doughtery sees his new found independence as an opportunity to make the beat the main course, here. Across the Ep’s four tracks, Dougherty draws on the early 80s post-disco scene, with some nods to Liquid Liquid, ESG, and italo-disco. Though, as a music historian, he also slides in a slight snap to Black Flag and Kraftwerk.

And the betas do beat, man. Instead of taking the, perhaps, tempting route of showing off complex drum patters, Doughtery knows that in music, less is usually more, and he takes command and drives the whole thing forward with powerful, pumping, but deceptively simple drum cracks. The whole thing is catchy as hell and pays tribute to the early 80s scene… but therein is the trick.

Relaxation isn’t pure ‘80s club worship. He borrows Brit Luna from Catbite for vocals and bolts a paranoia on top of the funky, funky, funky beats. She also makes music out of gargling which is wild. “Coming for you” might have some funky Kool and the Gang horns, but it’s about getting dragged away in the night. For her part, Luna paints a wonderfully paranoid picture with haunting vocals that are equal parts Sade and Michael Rose .Doughtery’s former bandmate, Marissa Paternoster, shows up on the lead track adds big, crashing, steely guitars that play off Luna’s sneer- What if Gang of Four and Grace Jones made a record? It’s pretty rad.

What might be equally interesting is that on the closing track, “Dream Freedom,” Dougherty cuts a track that has an electronic, Kraftwerk feel, except it’s analogue instruments acting as synths. The underlying paranoia that is soaked into the release rises to the top here even though it’s the EPs sole instrumental. It feels like somebody's watching you, but you don’t know who…

Doughtery has been vague about future plans for 34 Trolley. Will he switch up collaborators on every release? Will he keep this killer team cranking forward? Is this a one and done kind of thing? Since a sense of paranoia hangs over the release while booty shaking comes from below, a hazy future for this kind of thing seems proper. It would be cool to see it mutate in the darkness into even more scary surprises, but also, if this is all it is, it’s one hell of a punch- one that leaves you confused, but with a beat ringing in your ear.