The Trypes - "A Plan, Revised"

There must have been something in the water in Haledon, New Jersey in the early 1980s.

The small, blue-collar town in Passaic County spawned a wealth of incredible, interconnected proto-indie rock bands, including the Willies, Yung Wu, The Feelies, and perhaps the biggest in membership, The Trypes, a band that included all five current members of the Feelies at some point. It was a casual project amongst a group of musically inclined friends who would gather weekly to play music primarily, as Glenn Mercer described, “for their own enjoyment.” The Trypes only released one EP called The Explorers Hold during their original run, but back in 2012, Acute Records put together a compilation titled Music For Neighbors, which sold out pretty quickly and is currently going for triple digits on Discogs. So, thankfully, this excellent collection is getting a much-needed reissue via Pravda Records. In addition to the band’s entire studio output, this special reissue also features a bunch of bonus material, including a couple of tracks from a 1984 performance at The Bottom Line in Manhattan.

The Trypes preceded The Feelies' second era, which started in 1986 with the release of their second full length The Good Earth, a record that sounds drastically different from the jittery and nervy songs heard on their 1978 debut, Crazy Rhythms. You can hear the foundations of what would be The Feelies' eventual evolved style across Music For Neighbors, especially on the pastoral sounding “A Plan, Revised.” It features the magical twin-guitar interplay of Bill Million and Glenn Mercer, an almost telepathic kind of musical communication that would play an integral role in the Feelies’ sound on The Good Earth and beyond. But the song also features the unmistakable contributions of John and Toni Baumgartner, and Marc Francia. Those three would eventually go on to form Speed The Plough, and they flesh out their more orchestral pop proclivities on “A Plan, Revised” through a gorgeous mosaic of woodwinds and keys.

Stream “A Plan, Revised” below!

You can purchase Music For Neighbors on compact disc via Bandcamp. Stay tuned, as a vinyl edition is coming later this year!