Trampoline - All the People in This House

Trampoline

All the People in This House
​self-released; 2022

By Jay Freeman
​

Trampoline is a charismatic, anti-rock outfit formed in the summer of 2014 in Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada). At the band's helm is the idiosyncratic and ambitious songwriting of Michelle Lecnik (guitarist and vocalist) and the whip-smart interplay between Steve Martens (drums/vocals) and Joey Penner (bass/vocals). The musical arrangements are cinematic and percussive, blending styles of punk, indie-rock, prog, spoken word poetry and ‘90s rock nostalgia. Trampoline’s Happy Crimes charted at #1 for multiple weeks on radio stations CKUW and UMFM in Winnipeg as well as Edmonton's CJSR 88.5. This album was nominated for the Polaris Prize, has reached #26 on the national top 50 Ear Shot chart and was ranked #74 for 2019. Their latest, All the People in This House, was recorded, mixed and mastered at Private Ear Studio in Winnipeg, Manitoba by John Paul Peters.  The 11-track album explores themes of tyranny, the degradation of nature and the collapse of western civilization in the wake of an emerging new paradigm of unconditional love and interdependence. The album flirts with the perspectives of notable voices from Thoth to Socrates to Erin Brockovitch to Ted Kaczynski to comedian Jessa Reed, and others. Lecnik states, that “The message I hope the album transmits to the listener is that within every soul contains every layer of existence, all of human history, the beasts, the birds, the gods, the psychopaths.”

The album begins with “Prologue” – a fitting title and a short four-second snippet of a guy stating – “What you’re about to hear is a rock musical…” then something, something, “house.” Next up repeats “chaos, order, order, order – progress, suffer, progress, suffer” on the track “Ellie I (Lovers)” an anthem, theatrical rocker, narrated by Michelle Lecnik. John Paul Peters sits in on violin on this tune as well, and there is a fantastic, solo break that gets very dramatic. “Ted” features a thumping drumbeat and bass (by Steve Martens and Joey Penner), and death metal-like guitar action in the beginning. More narration follows by Lecnik between the musical breaks. I don’t know – for an anti-rock outfit, this band sounds pretty rock to me – just more on the side of art, theatrical and experimental performance. Older bands like the Virgin Prunes, Sun Ra, Captain Beefheart and artists like Frank Zappa and Björk come to mind, but this group had more pomp and circumstance, like say Arcade Fire. Plenty of artsy stuff was going on in the ’70s.

“Jessa” has more of a structured, conventional approach, but written in a way more suited for the stage, from what I could tell. “Erin” begins gently with rolling and soothing guitar playing. Echoing drums fills come in and more narration a bit later. Some pretty cool synth sounds chime in, alongside a bass melody. This was one of the band’s more electronic/atmospheric styled numbers, that I felt showcased strong instrumental arrangements.  “Judas” states “the voices of the angels are calling” and “the voices of the demons are calling.” The band’s style is quiet, but chilling, and their sound is big and bold. This tune was very dramatic and powerful. 

The song “Jane” claims “I am going – somewhere” – there’s a lot of great energy behind this tune – and great drumming, too. “Socrates” opens with a menacing sound, followed by more vocal narration (not sung), a dancing rhythm, backing vocals and plenty of other eccentric, art-rock stuff going on. “Doris” features some low, droning synths, electronic vocals and guest performances by Kristen, Kristaps, Veda and Milla. I thought this was a very entertaining song, with a catch chorus part as well. “Escher” has a tension and edginess to it. Largely instrumental, it blends both progressive and art rock styles with a little theatrical flair. Lots of crazy good guitar action, too. “Elle II (Not Nevers)” is one of the band’s longer songs and it develops slowly in the song’s beginning. Overall, this number felt like the “climatic” part of the album – like some sort of realization or revelation was happening. The musical style and singing kind of reminded me of Sinead O’Connor. The solo break gets heavier and more energetic, as the instruments cut out while a lone violin plays, performed by John Paul Peters. The band’s last number is “Thoth” and it gets good and gothic-monk like. A bit later, some metal guitar riffs come in, dancing drum rhythms and choir like, shout-singing, all around a theatrical progressive rock vibe. The song ends with a boat splashing and drifting off to sea – or coming into the harbor, not sure.

​I’m not going to lie – Trampoline’s All the People in This House will not be for everyone. It takes a sort of “mood” to be in the mood for this type of music. I’m not saying it’s bad – not one bit. The album is remarkably rich, entertaining and far from anything boring. From what I could tell, this band certainly doesn’t paint themselves into a corner around any one genre of music and that’s where their strength lies. On the other hand, it would have been nice to read some lyrics to get a greater context of what the songs were about. On that note, to give the album an even greater cohesion, perhaps a play written around these songs, or some kind of story, may be something the band would be willing to consider. Just a suggestion. Highly imaginative and creative, filled with unique arrangements and instrumentation – Trampoline’s All the People in This House is distinctive and engaging, and worth a listen.

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