Reviewed! Telling on Trixie - 'Ugly, Broke and Sober'

Telling on Trixie
‘Ugly, Broke and Sober’
Nicoletto Small Music

Telling on Trixie’s ‘Ugly, Broke and Sober’ is an interesting record; frightening artwork, great vocals and even better hooks, but bland music. Its indie rock, not the slit your wrists kind, but more of the South-meets-Midwest flavor made famous by Fastball. This record harkens back to the nineties when bands took their time crafting solid pop rock hooks. Remember those days? Ah, those were the good old days.

Anyways, ‘Ugly, Broke and Sobers’ excellent vocals make up for some of the musical shortcomings, but not all of them, as you will definitely notice some of the lacking music. Frontman Derek Nicoletto resembles Stephen Jenkins (Third Eye Blind) and Art Alexakis (Everclear), so you know he has chops that seem destined for greatness. Some of this effort is vanilla, middle-of-the-road, stripped down rock, but there are enough great sounding hooks to keep listeners entertained (‘Shooting in 60,’ ‘Crash Me Up,’ ‘Eden (Take a Bite)’), but there are certain tracks that hold the band back (‘A.N.F.O.’ ‘The Deepest Dive’), making them come off more as a bar band. The slow rolling ballad, ‘Steps to the Throne,’ is one of the better songs off the record, even though it is the albums’ closer.

‘Ugly, Broke and Sober’ is heartfelt and thoroughly soulful, giving the record an endearing quality. It’s a record that you will want to listen to over and over again and then probably over and over again some more.