The Traps :: "Calypso"

While the fundamental conceit of The Traps' "Calypso" faults on two levels - 1. It draws on Homer's Odyssey, a historic stay-away when it comes to independent rock bands and 2. It owes ludicrously to Phoenix - the song still succeeds against these steep odds. Perhaps, these twin absurdities conspire to create a sort of charming escapism, a buzzing bit of synth rock, the band describing Calypso as a "lioness" as their arrangement heaves and tweaks behind them. This isn't a think piece, the moral ambiguities of the original text left firmly on the side, no relativism of what it meant to be the title track woman, keeping her protagonist for just long enough, only to be turned down for the indomitable and too-trusting Penelope. These, we suppose, are needless revisions, and "Calypso" is so obviously supposed to be fun, full of sunny guitars, keyboards and shouting vocals.