Miki Berenyi Trio - Tripla (2025)

Lineup-wise, the Miki Berenyi Trio is just a pared-down version of the last, touring edition of Piroshka, a group that included Berenyi, her partner KJ "Moose" McKillop, and bassist Oliver Cherer (who stepped in when original Piroshka bassist Mick Conroy broke his arm during the band's tour for its second album). However, the approach this group has taken on Tripla is dramatically different from Piroshka's, and it's more than appropriate that they've given themselves a new moniker. While Piroshka seemed intentionally designed to blur Berenyi's role into that of an equal contributor to a four-piece rock band whose sound style was quite distinct from that of Lush's poppy shoegaze, the MB3 both front-faces the singer/guitarist and explicitly calls back to the dreampop she made in the ‘90s. Considering that this group came together in a bit of an ad hoc fashion to play some songs during the promotional tour Berenyi did for her well-received autobiography (and in fact, their first proper release was a cover of Lush's "Light from a Dead Star,"), it is perhaps unsurprising that the sounds on Tripla evoke that era. What is most remarkable here is that this album is evocative without getting mired in nostalgia. In fact, what's most interesting about Tripla is how it incorporates shoegaze fundamentals (chiming guitars, warm production, and, of course, Berenyi's voice) with distinctly non-retro sounds. From the opening electro-throb of "8th Deadly Sin" it's clear that MB3 is unafraid to fold in any range of new sonic elements, a point that the dubby, synth-y "Gango"—which is both intensely direct and psychedelically expansive—drives home. Sure, some numbers ("Kinch," "Ubique") absolutely sound like they could be ‘90s-era leftovers, thanks to their soundscape-y vibes, but even then, there are touches (like the utterly unexpected marimba and strings that show up on "Ubique") that add depth and complexity to that now well-trod sound.

TRACKLIST

1. Miki Berenyi Trio - 8th Deadly Sin
2. Miki Berenyi Trio - Kinch
3. Miki Berenyi Trio - Vertigo
4. Miki Berenyi Trio - Gango
5. Miki Berenyi Trio - A Different Girl
6. Miki Berenyi Trio - Big I Am
7. Miki Berenyi Trio - Hurricane
8. Miki Berenyi Trio - Manu
9. Miki Berenyi Trio - Ubique