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A Magazine for Sheffield

Seems Unfair

Even if you're one of those people who doesn't experience a clammy-palmed, lingering awkwardness as part of your daily existence, the songs Ellis Jones makes with an ever-shifting cast of his mates as Trust Fund communicate his anxious spirit so amiably that it's hard not to relate. His lyrics circle vaguely around shyness and a recurring general theme of 'feeling weird', but Ellis is not reticent about laying it all out in a way that feels vividly like he is speaking directly to his listener, with a simple elegance in his storytelling.

Seems Unfair is the second Trust Fund album but also the second this year, and it shares most immediately with its predecessor the anecdotal, sometimes stream-of-consciousness lyrics and the childlike vocal register. But on this album much of the rough-cut, lo-fi bedroom recording feel gives way to more fully-formed songs.

One of the most compelling things about Trust Fund, still not lost one bit here, has always been the dichotomy between guitar pop and doleful introspection. Even on 'Football' and 'Big Asda', maybe the most dynamic and infectiously catchy Trust Fund has ever sounded, a tinge of melancholy underpins every note. You're never left far from the impression that this is the work of a complex, inward-looking person destined forever to feel every tip of the scales magnified by ten, but it's always an enjoyable and engaging listen.

Thomas Sprackland