Manchester-based singer-songwriter Steve Trafford has unveiled his new single âAs Good As It Getsâ, with a solo album on the way.
Polished and percussive, the new track blends gleaming â60s pop minimalism with alt-rock sensibilities as crisp vocals flirt with jangling instrumentals and a triumphant brass section.Â
Written at home while in a âdesolate slumpâ at the height of lockdown, Steve Trafford recorded âAs Good As It Getsâ by himself in his garden shed, before bringing in The Apples in Stereo vocalist Robert Schneider (Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control) and Hamish Benjamin (Danny George Wilson, High Water Marks) on production duties.
Of the new single, Steve explains:
âLyrically itâs a tongue-in-cheek play on the double entendre phrase âas good as it getsâ. Telling someone they are as good as it gets could either be very offensive or very beautiful. In essence thatâs what itâs about: a cheeky joke and accepting your lot in life. Asking yourself is this as good as itâs ever going to be might mean you need to stop looking so you can find things. Thereâs moments when you want to give up, but then thereâs moments when youâre very grateful. Spending a lot of time with someone means you have to accept all of their annoying flaws, yet youâre reminded that you really need and love this person.â
Citing a colourful range of influences from psychedelic-pop majesties like âForever Changesâ and âPet Soundsâ, to 1960s rock, country, orchestral-pop, folk and beyond, âAs Good As It Getsâ falls deftly somewhere between them all.
Steve adds:
âThe melody is so simple: the whole thing revolves around 3 major chords like a nursery rhyme. My songwriting heroes had similar approaches â Lee Mavers, Syd Barrett, Ray Davies, Michael Nesmith, Lou Reed. I donât compare myself to those guys but they had a simplicity to their approach that was so appealing and childlike.âÂ
Former bass-player, guitarist and co-songwriter with The Fall and Paul Heaton, Steve Trafford has also played with Brix & The Extricated and founded psychedelic duo Rubberbear with New Orderâs Tom Chapman in 2012. Having released a collection of his early solo recordings âWhat The Cat Sawâ in 2011, Steve is currently working on his own solo album due for release in the near future.
Stay tuned for more news from Steve Trafford coming soonâŠ.