Trish Discord is an indie/alternative artist from Queens, New York. Having had a lifelong love of singing, she began taking professional guitar lessons at college. This coincided with gaining two degrees in psychology, which creatively inspired her to incorporate mental health issues into her artistic work. Also being influenced by the Brooklyn songwriting scene, she eventually created her debut album, Is This My Mental Breakdown? Notably, every track on the album is dedicated to a different kind of mental disorder. Her emotive, heartfelt style has been compared to Evanescence and The Cranberries and Trish has performed on Indie Star Radio and Pistacio Argentina, as well as to a weekly audience through live Instagram performances.
This album, The Aftermath Of 2016, consists of ten tracks and is a depiction of internal struggles following the combined consequences of two key geopolitical events, a Trump Presidency and the controversial, historic Brexit vote in the United Kingdom following a national referendum. Both events created a deep political turmoil and the album can be seen as a reflection on the zeitgeist at the time as well as expressing personal issues.
The album begins with the superb 23, a strident album opener pitched somewhere in between electro pop and alternative rock. Beginning with an arresting intro of pulsing synths, Trish’s strong and distinctive come to the fore, bringing to mind Amy Lee of Evanscence at first. After a brooding, captivating verse her vocals are heavily affected on the bridge to great effect, the calm before the storm, then launching into an epic chorus.
You can hear the influence of bands like Linkin Park and Paramore in terms of the vaulting vocal melody, yet Trish has developed a distinct and unique sonic signature of her own. She has stated that this song is about avoiding problems and difficult situations such as the need to end a bad relationship.
Desire immediately makes a strong impact, a complex Rnb/hip hop infused beat combined with echo-drenched guitar and an anthemic Paramore-style vocal melody. Trish powerfully depicts an intense emotional state of over idealising someone and the anxiety of letting emotions run riot, building up to a fantastic chorus.
“Are my emotions running too deep?” runs the opening chorus line following up with the great line, “you can’t handle my eccentric mind….”. Just as good is the following Strife, directly about dealing with the effects of Trump and Brexit. It’s built like a Linkin Park track, based around a revolving four chord progression over which Trish lays down a mournful yet uplifting vocal melody. Over swirling synth arpeggios the words eloquently depict the perceived harm of the Trump era and the populist mindset: “Destroying progress with every touch, using groupthink as its crutch”. The perspective switches from the political to the personal with lines like, “Isolation is all I need…” and it articulates the despair felt by those who lean politically left during that tumultuous period.
I Can’t Wait To Forget You is entirely personal and perhaps the album’s most instant track. Alternating between a sparse verse and a stomping ‘four to the floor’ chorus, it’s about a deep need to move on from a tormenting relationship: “I can’t wait till you’re just a speck of time locked away somewhere deep inside my mind….”. Featuring a fantastic lead vocal from Trish and an irresistible vocal melody, it’s a definite highlight that marries music and emotion in a truly symbiotic way.
Take Me Away is another finely crafted track, this one about the aftermath of Brexit and dealing with not being able to get a visa while staying in London. It’s a song that many who saw their lives turned upside down will be able to relate to as well as containing another strong vocal performance. The nuanced production also deserves special mention, often bringing to mind the sonic sophistication and studio wizardry of Billie Eilish and Finneas.
Split is another album highlight and a very intelligently written track, both lyrically and musically. Trish has stated how the title refers to both a relationship splitting up and an internal split, a conflict between wanting the safety and security of a relationship and seeking something or someone else outside it. This is another very relatable situation and is musically mirrored by starting out as an electro pop before switching to a more muscular alternative rock sound, Trish delivering a vocal that rivals Hayley Williams at her finest.
In Another Life maintains the high standard, this one a Sliding Doors type theme about wondering how things might be in an alternative universe. There’s a bittersweet quality to Trish’s emotive vocals, imagining a reality where a special relationship had turned out differently: “Please tell me how I can change this feeling, because it haunts me every night…”. Building to a cathartic climax, it’s another memorable album moment that connects on a deep level.
Crashing is an interesting song in the way it cleverly and skilfully balances the melodic with the dissonant, hitting some unexpected chords in the chorus but making it work. It’s a song about being afraid to tell someone you don’t wish to continue the relationship, fearing their reaction. Trish cites bands as diverse as Arcade Fire and Paramore in inspiring this great track.
Musically, Red Sun is another good example of Trish’s undeniable talent for composing strong pop melodies but the subject matter is somewhat serious; this one deals with the speight of Californian forest fires and expresses an underlying anxiety about the climate in general. This message and feeling has become only more apposite in recent years.
The album closes with the hard hitting emotion of This Is The End, a brutally honest expression of someone confronting a toxic relationship and choosing to walk away: “This is the end, cos I have self respect….you treat me worse than your enemy..”. Within its brief duration, this track brilliantly fuses modern pop with alternative rock, with a compelling and intense vocal delivery from Trish, who sounds like she means every word.
Overall, The Aftermath Of 2016 is a consistently excellent album that is perfectly pitched between the genres of pop and alternative rock. Blending influences as diverse as Linkin Park, Paramore and Alanis Morissette, Trish stamps her own artistic voice across every song here to create an album that many will relate to. In fact, all the themes based around 2016 are more relevant than ever, making Trish Discord an important artist of these times.
The Faulkner Review 