RELEASED ON 1.11.2024 ON TAPETE VIA SHELLSHOCK
CATALOGUE NUMBER TR581LP
Trust Fund, the musical project of singer-songwriter Ellis Jones, returns this year with a fifth album,
Has It Been A While?, recorded earlier this year in Sheffield by producer and close friend Joe
Mackenzie Todd, and released 1st November on Tapete Records.
Fans of Jones’ delicate, funny, relatable songwriting will know that yes, it has been a while. His last
album was released six years ago. The 2018 LP Bringing the Backline – which received praise from
Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and more – coincided with Jones calling time on Trust Fund,
as band members began their own families, and he moved to Norway (and then on to Canada) to
begin a career in academia. As he puts it: “I turned thirty, I moved away, and I thought, ‘I guess I
don’t do that anymore’”.
His return reflects a realisation that his music-making days continue to stretch out before him, and
marks the development of a mature style that offers both continuity and change. While previous
Trust Fund albums have foregrounded a fuzzy, indie-rock aesthetic, on Has It Been A While? Jones
strips his songs down to classical guitar and vocals, supported by captivating string quartet
arrangements provided by Maria Grig. Trust Fund’s lyrical dexterity remains, and is showcased here
on tracks such as The Mirror (a duet with Radiant Heart’s Celia MacDougall), whose vainglorious
protagonist would gladly “use the mirror as TV”.
For Jones, the key challenge of the record was creating something that felt both comfortable and
challenging: “I think it’s an ambitious record – but it’s quietly ambitious. I wanted to make some-
thing that explored a specific aesthetic, but that might still be diverse and engaging across 35 minutes.
Creating the string arrangements took me totally out of my comfort zone – I don’t read music – and I’m
very proud that I’ve produced something that was more or less what I had in mind. I have a lot more
time for good musicianship, when it’s applied well, and the idea of self-improvement.”
Fans of seventies singer-songwriters, and in particular Nick Drake’s first two Joe Boyd-produced
albums, will find much to recommend here, while Belle and Sebastian’s early folk-inflected material
is another obvious touchstone. Elsewhere on the record, the title track itself evokes both the spirit
and simplicity of Chet Baker’s “I Get Along Without You Very Well”.
Has It Been A While? marks the culmination of Trust Fund’s return to activity, following the low-key
release of five single tracks across 2022 and 2023 – including ‘late nite skate’, which quickly became
one of Trust Fund’s most-streamed songs. This material was collected in the 2023 EP ‘It Is What It Is’,
clearing the way for this album of twelve new songs. Trust Fund has made a return to live performance
too, as a duo (Ellis Jones and Celia Macdougall), including a sold out show at London’s George Tavern,
as well UK and European dates supporting Mitski in October 2023. They will be touring the UK and
Europe in support of Has It Been A While? in late 2024 and into 2025.
++++++++++++
Tracklisting
A1. Leaving The Party Early
A2. The Mirror
A3. This Life
A4. Curtis
A5. A Wooden Medal
A6. Until Now
B1. The Hinterland
B2. In The Air
B3. I Look For Him
B4. New University
B5. Has It Been A While
B6. One Calendar Year