TRELLIS comes from Los Angeles, California. The two man band play a variety of instruments and have been making music since 2010. Their 4^th album "Firesky" came out in February 2020 and it honestly isn't much to rave about. The band promoted themselves as Progressive Rock, but it definitely does NOT fit that genre. It's mainly Alternative Rock with some odd time changes in a couple of songs.

"Nothings Getting Better" seems to be a warning of what's to come honestly.  This first track has some strange mixing with too much reverb. The guitar solo is probably the only good part of this song. "No Place to Hide" starts out stronger with some cool guitar work that weaves throughout the track. The vocals are a little better in this one, they have more a Grunge Rock feel. "Take the Reins" is the first song to show any indication of Progressive Rock with the key changes and the overall feel of the instruments. The guitar solo was once again the shining star, although I definitely wanted the solo to be longer. "Build Me Up Again" is a bit all over the place. It's hard to find the melodies through the muddy percussion and bass, but you can find it in small portions of this song.

"Lift My Soul" and "This Will Come" were both difficult for me to sit through and listen to. The vocals are just so harsh and monotone. They feel so out of place with the singing guitars behind them and the pianos sounded like they were recorded in Garage Band. "It's Time" starts out with some quaint layered guitars. Then comes in the vocals that sound like a mix of Bob Dylan and Liam Gallagher. This song overall feels like a ballad by any Alternative Rock band (like The Calling or FUEL) in the early 2000s, just a lot more muffled. "Firesky" is yet another ballad on this album. The muddy mixing style really isn't suited for this many slower tracks. The guitar work once again saved this song from me skipping it midway through. "Peace" well... it's another ballad. "Catch the Wave" finally wasn't slow paced... but wasn't great. The melodies just aren't catchy at all. It's pretty boring at this point. "From the Start" is the final track and of course, a ballad. The vocals are so off key in this song, I couldn't even sit through it.

Sometimes, self-produced music turns out pretty well and I don't typically judge by the label, or lack thereof when it comes to creating independent music. In this case though, it's pretty damn rough. The mixing on this album made it unbearable to listen to at points. It was like I'd thrown my speakers into murky water and pressed play. I also feel deceived by the genre label on this; I caught very little Progressive anything in this music. It was more like the Pop Punk/Alt-Rock from the late 90s and early 2000s if we're looking for labels. About the only portion of this that was enjoyable was the guitar work. Otherwise, I caught myself skipping a couple of tracks because they were just too inaudible or the off-key vocals were just too grating to sit through. I needed a short break of silence after listening to this reverb heavy cacophony.