Meet Trough—an Oakland, CA force field, originally formed in 2017, now officially joining the Psyched! Records family. They call what they do “jangle-skronk,” and the name fits: bright, chiming fragments collide with bent-metal riffs and sudden left turns, stitching melody to abrasion until the sparks feel like part of the song. It’s rock music that raids every cupboard—proto- and post-punk, no-wave, noise rock, avant-garde, free jazz, and pocket-size pop—then serves it as succinct narratives with a peculiar, defeatist sense of humor.
Listen to Trough via Spotify, Apple Music, etc..
Across three albums, Trough has honed an aesthetic that’s equal parts splinter and hook: guitars jab and jangle, bass grumbles in the crawlspace, drums snap like a trap shutting, and the vocals deliver wry one-liners that somehow hit like headlines. These are songs that feel written in the margins and shouted from the stage—short, sharp, and grinning at the void.
The next chapter is already in motion. Trough is hard at work on a fourth record—set for release in 2026 with Psyched! Records—doubling down on the tension between precision and chaos that makes their live set feel like a moving target. Expect tighter corners, bigger fractures, and choruses that appear exactly where you don’t expect them.
Welcome Trough to Psyched! Records—a partnership built for risk, rigor, and noise with teeth. More details soon. For now, file under: Oakland jangle-skronk, 100% necessary.
| Trough |
| Instagram / Spotify / Apple Music |