CloseUp Pres.
Trudy and The Romance
Live at The Grace, London
Describing their style as “’50s mutant pop,” Trudy and the Romance merge the sounds of jump blues, doo wop, and early rock & roll into 21st century garage punk. Led by the rickety rasp of charismatic singer/guitarist Oliver Taylor, they introduced themselves with the EP Junkyard Jazz in 2017.
Taylor started the band in Liverpool, England, in 2014 with bass player Lewis Rollinson and drummer Brad Mullins. Known briefly as Trudy before rebranding, the trio released a series of stand-alone songs beginning with “All My Love” in May 2015. Produced by Spring King‘s Tarek Musa, it debuted the band’s ramshackle, updated take on vintage rock guitar and harmony vocals. Their “Wild” and “He Sings” “double A-side” singles marked a move to B3SCI Records in 2016. Subsequent releases included covers of Elvis Presley‘s “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You” and “Baby Mine” from Disney‘s Dumbo. Featuring all original songs, Trudy and the Romance’s debut EP, Junkyard Jazz, arrived in late 2017. They followed up with their first long-player, Sandman, on B3SCI in mid-2019.