Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The true rocker stands in defiance against trends and the spit in the eye from the other genres as they still find ways to suggest that the once thought uncool double denim look was a reflection of the music, that snobbish would sneer with delight, that the arrogant would openly mock, and yet throughout it all the true rocker stood firm, held their council and their own tongue and just enjoyed the ride in every form that was available.
It has never been an easy belief to hold onto, arguably there have been the wrong signposts, the detours that led down boggy and foul abusive tracks but in Canada’s Monster Truck, what comes across is a golden path ploughed to the state of bliss and perfection; and if the previous album, Sittin’ Heavy didn’t insinuate or demand the attention to you, then by all means ignore the True Rockers, but woe-betide this act of personal folly, because the new release is another step onwards, this is where playtime is over and the big guns come out to play.
From the superb opening assault on the ears which comes from True Rocker and Thunderstruck, the band that have gone on the road and shared evenings treading the arena boards with the likes of Nickelback, Black Stone Cherry, Jane’s Addiction and Deep Purple, have taken the next enormous stride in musical appreciation and found the purple patch to be one of immediate gratification. It is a satisfaction that throws of the shackles, undoes the denim jacket with poise and shows that underneath the clothes seen, is a rippling body of rock muscle waiting to pin down those to whom the sneer and the arrogant superficiality is a default setting.
In songs such as the aforementioned opening tracks and Being Cool Is Over, Devil Don’t Care, In My Own World, Denim Danger and The Howlin’ one of the great set of artists to ever come out of Hamilton, Ontario, to whom the Saturday night in The Gown and Gavel and followed by the force of nature to be found in a Bulldogs game against Niagara, could only be topped by the immediate beauty of the heart felt crush of the band performing and bringing all the traffic on King Street West to a stunning halt, brilliantly occupy every thought that you can imagine whilst listening to the music.
To dismiss the rocker is one thing, to sneer at the True Rockers of the world is at your own expense, because they are the ones driving the Monster Truck over your ignorance, and with a blissful sense of occasion on their face.
Monster Truck release True Rockers on September 14th via Mascot Records.
Ian D. Hall