I have to begin this post by saying thank you to RVA Magazine, because the RVA Music Festival has proven to be the gift that keeps on giving. Not only did I have an incredible time on Sunday, September 11, walking between the two main stages, enjoying some of Richmond’s best home-grown music, I also walked away with a gluttonous haul of merch. If you’re a regular reader of You Hear That, you may already know about my raging merch addiction. True to form, I did my fair share of business at the merch tables at the RVA Music Fest, and even though I’m enjoying all of the spoils, I’m a bit concerned, because The Trillions are threatening to claim squatter’s rights to my car’s CD player. I’ve been listening to an advance copy of their new full-length album ever since I bought it at the festival. I can’t stop. The truth is that it’s not up to me any more, because some of the songs on the still-unnamed album are solidly stuck in my head, underpinning what might be the band’s greatest achievement: writing guitar lines, lyrics and melodies that your brain begs to hear again. From the sweeping chorus of “Win Some Lose Some” to the descending notes that open, and reappear in, “Calm Down” to the fact that saying the words “You Gotta Be Kidding Me” instantly makes the song start playing in my mind (I’m completely serious. It’s like saying “Beetlejuice” three times… Michael Keaton WILL show up), there are so many moments for which “catchy” is not a strong enough word. Add to these moments an abundance of driving rhythms, an almost supernatural aptitude for choosing guitar sounds that enhance the notes they’re expressing and an exceedingly beautiful song in “What, When, Where,” and you have a sophisticated and rewarding album that’s extremely hard to put down. Check out their performance of “Calm Down” from the RVA Music Fest below, and click here to grab your advance copy of their new album.

The Trillions — “Calm Down (live at the RVA Music Fest)“