Trembling Blue Stars - Idyllwild

Idyllwild is a wonderful song which reminds me of how different things could have been. Idyllwild also confirms what the song Helen Reddy made ​​me suspect - Beth Arzy could have saved Trembling Blue Stars. I really love Beth's voice, but I find it difficult to learn to like or for that matter even accept Trembling Blue Stars.

In all subcultures, there are heroes and idols who can not be questioned. Bobby Wratten is a pop icon who has lived on his name ever since The Field Mice. Fans around the world kneel before the Emperor, although he has not delivered in more than 15 years. Wratten's Trembling Blue Stars were an uninteresting project for many years, and it was only when his thoughts began to revolve around other things than his ex-girlfriend Annemari Davies that the music was worth giving a chance. Nowadays, Bobby Wratten is together with Beth who also sings in his band.

Beth's pop history began in a small town in California. It was the early nineties and Beth met John Girgus through mutual friends during her time at Palm Desert High School. Beth and John soon became a couple as well as the core of the band they later would rename to Aberdeen after Beth fell in love with the city at a vacation in Scotland. After high school, Beth and John moved to Los Angeles where they began recording music which later was released by Sarah Records and Sunday Records. But everything was not as perfect as you might think. Beth and John's ever-turbulent relationship ended after six years. 1995 became 1996, and the band Aberdeen no longer existed.

There seems to be something special with former Sarah Records bands and reunions. Five years later, John contacted Beth via email with the excuse that he wanted Aberdeen tapes that Beth took with her when the band broke up. Soon they were in the studio together, and although the love for each other was not there anymore the music sounded better than ever. The album Homesick and Happy to Be Here was released in March 2002 and followed up by the EPs The Boy Has Gone Away and Florida.

Well, I was not supposed to tell Aberdeen's story in this post. Aberdeen has, however, toured with Trembling Blue Stars and comparisons between the bands become inevitable as Beth has sung in both. Idyllwild is the best song by Trembling Blue Stars since Helen Reddy. Unfortunately, that is because Bobby Wratten is happy to retell stories which he himself has already written better before.

Trembling Blue Stars are not Aberdeen. Idyllwild is not Sink or Float and John Girgus' contribution to the 2000s is vastly more interesting than Bobby Wratten's ditto. Idyllwild still shows that Trembling Blue Stars are on the right track and what I have heard from the new album The Last Holy Writer bodes well. But I can not stop thinking about how different things could have been. I can not stop dreaming of a reunited Aberdeen.