SQUEEZE - Trixies

In a recent interview, Chris Difford said that the new Squeeze record is their own "Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy". "Trixies" is a concept album put together between 1972 and 1974, at the time deemed too difficult to actually realize by a bunch of teenagers, a collection of memories and notes shelved too hastily, finally recovered and completed in keeping with the spirit of those years, when the two songwriters, not even of legal age yet, kicked off one of the most compelling partnerships in English pop-rock.

The first thing that strikes you is the quality of the songwriting, which was genuinely surprising even to the authors themselves: "Trixies" confirms the band's typically British brilliance and places Difford and Tilbrook alongside artists such as David Bowie, Elton John, Paul Mc Cartney, Sparks and Supertramp.

It's with this wealth of influences that the two songwriters were grappling at the time, searching for an artistic identity that would turn the more militant new wave outlook on its head: we couldn't be the Clash, Chris and Glenn have said, since they were aiming for a more classic kind of songwriting.

"Trixies" is a pop opera built around the imagery of a nighttime local haunt. The quotations and influences are plain to see: Squeeze preserve the original spirit of the songs, leaving the nods to David Bowie and Elton John clearly on display in "The Place We Call Mars" (complete with a Mick Ronson meets Rory Gallagher guitar solo), bring together Sparks and Supertramp in the pop'n'roll of "Hell On Earth", and even conjure T-Rex and 10cc in the irresistible "The Jaguars".

What's already clear from the album's opening notes ("What More Can I Say") is the remarkable chemistry between the two songwriters. The elegance and complexity of the melodies provide fertile ground for sonic excursions ranging from Beatles/Beach Boys-style pop ("Good Riddance") to early-Fleetwood Mac rock-blues ("Don't Go Out In The Dark"), but it's in the excellent "You Get The Feeling" that the soul of the future Squeeze emerges in all its potential and splendor.

"Trixies" is without a doubt the English band's most varied album. The many influences and harmonic echoes – from Status Quo to Slade in "Why Don't You", by way of Electric Light Orchestra in the two parts of the title track – complete a puzzle of pure British pop coolness. Meanwhile, Squeeze have announced that they already have an album of new songs ready to release before the year is out. Welcome back!

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08/03/2026