The scrappy and self-effacing Bristol indie-rock band Trust Fund have announced they’re breaking up. This news comes as a surprise, mostly because for years I was under the impression that Trust Fund was basically the solo project of frontman Ellis Jones. As it turns out, Jones had a cast of bandmates who are disbanding in the wake of this month’s new album Breaking The Backline.

In a note on Twitter, Jones writes:

hi everyone,
thanks so much for the kind responses to the album — it means a lot. for various non-dramatic reasons it’s going to be the last trust fund record, and i’m happy that we maybe didn’t fuck it up at the end there. so: here is a video for ‘abundant’ that we did with james hankins. it’s our third collaboration with him, and a lovely note to finish on, i think. thanks to everyone for a lovely few years, it has been a real treat xx

The “Abundant” video Jones mentioned really is as lovely as he says. It’s based on the premise that Jones has fallen so far behind in school that he must make up five years’ worth of education in a flash, in a sort of Billy Madison situation. The twist is that his teacher’s fast-paced curriculum involves forming a band, supporting his local scene, getting signed, et al, framing all the machinations of a local DIY band trying to “make it” in the context of what looks like elementary school. It’s charming and at least a little bit deep, and the song is good. So watch below and bid Trust Fund a fond farewell.

https://t.co/50E1oOrVqG 👋👋👋👋 pic.twitter.com/H2yGpr4CL7

— ellis (@TRUST_FUND) July 18, 2018

Check out Trust Fund’s discography at Bandcamp.