Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players: Lost And Found

Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players: Lost And Found
There are not many bands that have as an enthralling back story as the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players. The mother/father/daughter trio are a self-described “indie-vaudeville conceptual art-rock pop band.” Father, Jason plays guitar piano and sing while daughter, Rachel plays drums and sings. Mother, Tina contributes backing vocals but her main job is to run the slide show projector. With such a focus on visuals, I was interested to see how it translated to record on their third record, Lost and Found.
For the most part, the live act translates fairly well onto record. A song like “Beautiful Dandelion” does not even really hint at what the slides might be during the song. Because there are little references to the slides, the listener does not feel like they are missing anything. The song stands alone well as a Moldy Peaches-esque lo-fi indie pop track.
The same cannot be said for all tracks. While listening to “Look At Me,” the listener feels like he or she is being subjected to an inside joke. While I can only imagine what the slides must be like during the song, without the slideshow the song just does not work.
The split between songs that work sans slideshow and songs that work alone is pretty even. The family band concept has the charm factor to make the album feel like it works but closer inspection finds an album that is barely staying afloat. The band is surely a can’t miss live act but recorded it only partially works.
Rating: 6.0/10
MP3: Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players “Beautiful Dandelion”
Buy: iTunes or Insound!