Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
“If not now, then when”, the rallying cry behind every demonstration worth its salt, every call for freedom to pushed even further away from the haves and the questionable keepers of certain dubious traditions that maintain the status quo in their favour; it is to the ones who live just under the surface that arguably we should look to when seeking the exposure of the damned truth, for they are the ones who live within reach of both levels and can empathise with those underneath, and have the righteous fire and the combined learning of their trade to make a difference.
That expression of fierceness in the knowledge of what we collectively have endured in the last 18 months is gaining root, and whilst some may be happy to reiterate the phrase of “Get back to normal”, there is a ground swell, quite rightly, of those who demand that now is the time for revolution, without bloodshed, but in terms of how we appreciate what it means to express life without the backdrop of the toxic past.
It does not have to be Now or Nowhere, but whilst that we hang on to an outmoded way of belief, then we should always encourage the now, for what better chance do we have as a society to break the chains than by forwarding the champions who will hopefully, certainly, smash through the layer of ice, and impose the change required.
In The Damn Truth’s third studio album, Now Or Nowhere, the sense of occasion is indisputable, the nod to the not-so-subtle exuberance of the heady days of Rock ‘n’ Roll is definite, planned with style, and offered with irrefutable love, and across tracks such as the opener This Is Who We Are Now, Only Love, Everything Fades, the indispensable The Fire, Look Innocent and the final salvo of Full On You and Shoot ‘Em, Lee-La Baum, Tom Shemer, Py Letterlier and Dave Traina, have thrown away the ice-pick and chisel, and instead primed the bomb that will smash the ice of separation overwhelmingly, allowing others to feel the ability of swimming in a new layer of reality, of hard fact and welcome differences.
The damn truth is change is not just required, but inevitable, the status quo cannot continue to recklessly ignore the ability of all, for in the authenticity of their music, the Montreal based band, their two producers, including the legendary Bob Rock, have seen through the lies, deceptions of constant uncertainty, and delivered an album of great veracity. For The Damn Truth will out, and given the depth of their new recording, it is an explosive, beautiful, unstoppable exactness of faith, persuasion and incredible songs.
The Damn Truth will release Now Or Nowhere via Spectra Musique/Sony Music on Friday 7th May.
Ian D. Hall