- Mike Scott, 1985.

2008 was the year The Trestles - named after the author of a Socialist bible and a lyric from a Bruce Springsteen song - truly arrived. But you've seen (or heard) nothing yet... Picking up the pieces from the first line-up of the group, formed in mid-2007, Liverpool songwriter Al O'Hare ("like Bruce Springsteen fronting Oasis," said NME about O'Hare's previous band) regrouped and recruited 21-year-old virtuoso musician, Tom Carroll.

Tom and Al bonded over the early months of 08 and played lots of acoustic gigs around Merseyside - sometimes accompanied with a fiddle or an electric guitar - and The Trestles started to gather followers. Playing intimate venues like Liverpool's world famous Parr Street studios and Mathew Street's Mellowtone @ View Two Gallery gigs, the lads arrived at a sound that was truly their own. Full-band gigs were waiting and studio time was booked. As Spring turned to Summer, indie label Ultimate Fake Records decided to release a compilation record, Liverpool Music Today. Featuring the cream of Liverpool's "best unsigned and underground artists", The Trestles were asked to contribute a track. Al O'Hare's 'All Grown Up' ("combining the energy of The Hold Steady with the drama of Springsteen," declared Liverpool's Daily Post) was chosen and the CD was released in July.

The sleeve notes - penned by the label - said about the song: "Scouse-tinged harmonies, layered with a clash of jangly guitars and raw folk roots, built on a foundation of classic songwriting..." Word was getting out. The Trestles made their return to Liverpool's live scene with an August Bank Holiday Monday gig at The Zanzibar Club, for the Mathew Street Festival. The place was packed - and, with Icicle Works legend Ian McNabb down the front checking out the new boys - the gig was a resounding success. Brand new songs 'Hard Faced Town' (debuted weeks earlier at a live BBC session, following on from local airplay for 'All Grown Up') and 'Heavy Heart' made their way into the set and The Trestles were off and running... and compared to Irish legends, Them!

The group made the fruits of their first recording sessions available on MySpace and both 'Hard Faced Town' and 'Where's The Glory?' received mass acclaim and plays. "The best thing you've ever done," seemed to be the consensus. Promo flyers with the hard-hitting lyrics of 'Hard Faced Town' appeared around Liverpool and were even printed in the local football magazines. The Trestles - now operating as a traditional four-piece, around core members O'Hare and Carroll - built on the momentum with a flurry of gigs in the Autumn of 2008.

The Trestles were also asked to play MTV Liverpool Music Week in 2008 and performed their best set yet. High on energy, drama and dynamics - the band were on fire. Support slots followed with Mull Historical Society, Amsterdam (at a sold-out Carling Academy in Liverpool, see YouTube clips) and Ian McNabb and the group were awarded their best review yet, following on from a great show at Wolverhampton's Little Civic: "Never previously short of promise, this incarnation featuring the Fender Uzi wielding Tom Carroll and new found bollock kicking growl of Al O'Hare, has become the definitive line up." 2008 comes to a close with the announcement of the forthcoming 'Hard Faced Town' EP/Demonstration tape.

Recording will continue over Christmas/New Year and February is set to be the month when the release will appear on-line and become available to buy. The group will promote it with shows across the country - including their London debut... The Trestles have used Hammond B3 organ on all of the above tracks - and with the group also utilising fiddles in their acoustic gigs, from time to time - expect the band's live sound to expand in 2009 too. With nods to The Waterboys, Springsteen, The Clash and Van Morrison, The Trestles are always ready to switch on your electric light. Remember how music used to make you feel? December 22 2008

2009, HARD FACED TOWN Press Release
“snappy, sussed beat-pop...” NME
“the energy of The Hold Steady with the drama of Springsteen...” DAILY POST
“Scousers with a knack for sweet harmony...” C4 Text

“You've got a mobile 'phone/A big-screen TV/A lap-top computer and an MP3/
But I don't see much joy/I don't see much grace/let in some love and get rid of the hate/
all around this hard faced town...”
- Hard Faced Town.
Remember how music used to make you feel? Liverpool group The Trestles announce the release of their debut EP, Hard Faced Town. Four songs dealing with what it is to be alive in 2009.

The title-track – quoted above – has already caused a stir around the city, following its debut live performance on BBC Radio Merseyside, airplay at Anfield and the printing of songwriter Al O'Hare's insightful lyrics (in full) in underground Scouse bible, Boss magazine.

The group are about more than finger-pointing and social comment though, however perceptive. Taking their cues from such beautiful humans as Bruce Springsteen, Mike Scott and Joe Strummer, The Trestles are alive with the much-needed “grace”, O'Hare says he doesn't see around these days.

“Where dock worker's dreams/mix with religious themes/
on Hope Street tonight is where I wanna' be...”
- Heavy Heart.
Heavy Heart is a determined waltz, showcasing the group's softer side. Never afraid of emotion – a welcome trait in these cold days – the song manages to capture The Trestles' Celtic roots, alongside their Northern soul.

A live favourite – wonderful YouTube footage exists of the band performing the song to a hushed, sold-out Carling Academy, in Liverpool last December – the song highlights what the group do best: wring a joyous melody from the hardest of lyrics.

“I got a Shot of Wonder/A shot of wonder/Now wonder is all I believe in...”
- A Shot Of Wonder.
Can you say pop song? In the proper sense of the word, of course. Built on an electrifying riff from 22-year-old guitarist, Tom Carroll, O'Hare delivers his best, free-flowing melody line yet and manages to capture all the plain-spoken beauty of a great pop song. The chorus is the group's most all-inclusive moment... and they know it.

“One thousand years of desolation have left a weeping scar/And one hundred years of desperation pour from a burned-out car...”
- Where's The Glory?
Celtic roots? You better believe it. Not just in the heart-on-sleeve delivery and mentality, but also contained within the marching season siege of Where's The Glory? Six minutes of soul searching questions – the biggest being Which Side Are You On... answers? Not sure you'll find any on this EP. But Where's The Glory? brings the EP to a close with a clattering of confusion, as marching drums and delicately picked electric guitar give way to a raging organ, assaulted guitars and massive drums. You won't know what's just hit you...