The answer to the album’s title is ‘yes’. It has been six years since their previous album, ‘Bringing The Backline’. In the intervening period, Trust Fund has shrunk from being a group into primarily Ellis Jones’ project. From a full band indie rock sound, they have made a welcome diversion into classical guitar and string quartets. The closest reference points for ‘Has It Been A While?’ would be Nick Drake or early Belle and Sebastian and the album does not suffer in comparison.
The album makes the most exquisite of starts with ‘Leaving The Party Early’. The three verses sketch the etiquette of taking only one ailment to each doctor’s appointment, watching a friend tackling their garden and “thirty-seven centuries of old, morose philosophers” of whom the only two that meet with Jones’ approval are Nietzsche and Spinoza, all linked by the desire to make an early departure from social gatherings. Combined with classical guitar and Maria Grig’s strings, it is a beautifully understated but special piece of songwriting.
Celia MacDougall adds vocals to the jazz flecked ‘The Mirror’ in which each verse sets out different perspectives: she saying he wants to be remembered, Jones saying she wants to be forgotten. The song reaches a thrilling denouement as they sing over each other and it works so perfectly.
‘Curtis’ is the first track to include a person’s names in the lyrics. Half of the album’s twelve songs have this trait which adds to their storytelling allure. The song follows the eponymous hero from singing in school to an adulthood working in phone repair. It reflects Jones’ tendency to throw narrative curveballs in his songs and take them to unexpected conclusions with an aura of disappointment. Musically, it has echoes of Simon and Garfunkel at their most pastoral. Set alongside its bossa nova vibe, ‘A Wooden Medal’ contemplates seasonal affective disorder in July and “Your genes and mine, if they combined / A prank that we could play on an unsuspecting mind / Your hazel eyes, my tendency to lie.” In its oddball and far from conventionally romantic take on having children, it has a strange charm.
‘Until Now’ is blessed with a glorious string arrangement and a deep-seated sense of melancholy. ‘The Hinterland’ tells an unusual tale of Mary brought up in a world of artisans, farmers and religion. Her dreams of a wider world take her on what proves to be a temporary sojourn at university where “the evenings are alright / you could do without the afternoon, the morning, and the night.” The string’s slight atonality mirrors the sense of confusion and regret.
Holiday nostalgia bathes ‘In The Air’ but with a lingering regret for graceless behaviour. Again, the song has tiny lyrical details in its references to ferrymen on strike that make it stand out. ‘I Look For Him’ details a character who thinks “the world should bend to his every single whim” and, which, annoyingly, it does. The track is further distinguished by Dave Westley’s muted and melancholy trumpet. ‘New University’ points a vivid portrait of decay, rubble, dust and hopes diminished while the title track has jazz chords and at its heart a story of love neglected. MacDougall adds her vocal warmth to the concluding ‘One Calendar Year’, a shimmering song full of remembrance which also benefits from a particularly rich string arrangement.
In performing under the name Trust Fund, it can be assumed that Jones is making a jokey point that only those of independent means can devote themselves full-time to music. Jones’ career is now in academia but ‘Has It Been A While?’ is clearly a labour of love. It is a subtle gem and a must for fans of literate and well-crafted pop songs.
Trust Fund: Has It Been A While? – Out 1 November 2024 (Tapete Records)
I was editor of the long-running fanzine, Plane Truth, and have subsequently written for a number of publications. While the zine was known for championing the most angular independent sounds, performing in recent years with a community samba percussion band helped to broaden my tastes so that in 2021 I am far more likely to be celebrating an eclectic mix of sounds and enthusing about Made Kuti, Anthony Joseph, Little Simz and the Soul Jazz Cuban compilations as well as Pom Poko and Richard Dawson.
