Owen Tromans: “For Haden” EP

Owen Tromans grew up in The Black Country and led John Peel favourites San Lorenzo before pursuing a solo career that has seen him release several acclaimed albums and tour extensively, supporting the likes of Best Coast, Idlewild and Plush. Owen has also appeared on collections alongside Devendra Banhart, Mercury Rev, and members of Sonic Youth, and shared split singles with the likes of Wooden Wand.

Following on the heels of Eternal Western Youthdream – a compilation of a decade’s worth of songs – comes For Haden. Teamed with his long-term collaborator Joe Bennett of The Dreaming Spires, Tromans has created an EP that combines some of his most charming pop songs with a ragged, melancholy edge. These songs all look back to Tromans’ youth growing up in the Black Country, with opener “Greg” leading on from its twisting, finger-picked intro to call upon Owen’s memories of his beloved Drop Nineteens and their now-reclusive leader Greg Ackell – “When I was 14 or 15 the Drop Nineteens were my favourite band, I loved Greg’s lyrics and, even though he was portrayed as a brat in the music press, really warmed to him through the songs.”

“Bella In The Witch Elm” is a more sinister beast, evoking the Arcadian chamber folk of a bygone era. Here Tromans tells of an infamous local murder – “It’s quite a well-known tale and it always stuck with me, how these boys found a woman in a tree, her hand severed and buried, and still nobody knows who she was. Later, this mysterious graffiti sprang up asking ‘Who Put Bella in the Witch Elm?’ compounding the mystery.”

“Trinity Records” is a love song to the record shop, or at least the three Birmingham stores that Tromans would religiously visit at weekends – “It was a real thing, everyone going to the shops to hang out, talk about bands and maybe even buy something… So much of my love for music comes from those three shops, and of course they’re not all still with us.” The song’s dusted, 3AM feel reminds us of the times we used to let the needle spin all night.

“For Haden” takes its name from the area where Tromans grew up and is his most personal evocation of the place he has often referenced in the past. A slow-burning epic, at its heart is a tension between youth and experience, with an acknowledgement that to some extent we are all the product of where we found our feet in the world. Finally, the thunderous garage rock of “Count The Lights” ramps up the volume in the vein of Owen’s previous guitar-churning efforts such as “John’s On The Bridge”, before collapsing in a blizzard of feedback and busted noise to close proceedings with a typically atypical flourish.