The Damn Truth – Now Or Nowhere
Montreal’s 60s sheened rock and roll band The Damn Truth have travelled far and musically wide (including significant support slots across the US and Europe in the company of the likes of Styx and ZZ Top), but the rock and roll reality is the band and their two previous albums have never really hit a resonant, rock 'n' roll chord with rock fans outside of their Maple Leaf home.
That it’s time to address that very issue however is made loud and sonically clear on Now Or Nowhere.
The Damn Truth's third album is also perfectly titled, given the time-to-roll-the-sleeves-up-and-show-you-what-we-are-really-made-of attitude applied by Lee-La Baum (lead vocals, guitar, tambourine), Tom Shemer (guitars, keyboards, mandolin, vocals), Py Letterlier (bass, vocals) and Dave Traina (drums, vocals).
Additionally, on the road (pre-pandemic) songwriting and subsequent lockdowns have obviously helped concentrate the collective musical minds of The Damn Truth – whereas the band’s two previous albums were angrier and darker, finger pointing affairs (song titles such as 'White Lies,' 'Pirates & Politicians' and 'Leave it in the Dark' from last album, the drums up front/ White Stripes skewed Devilish Folk, give the blame game away) Now Or Nowhere is primarily positive and optimistic.
Indeed there’s not so much as a nod to COVID-19 or the pandemic, The Damn Truth snubbing their noses at Coronavirus as if it’s simply a minor irritant in their path as they musically drive forward to achieve their goals of love-rock and upbeat roll.
That statement of positive intent is up front and centre from the get-go on opener (and again perfectly titled) 'This is Who We Are Now.'
The song rattles out the gates with rapid-fire snare and psychedelia-tinged guitar and (subtle but effective) organ backing before Lee-La Baum’s "woah-oh yeah!" leads to a feisty and highly impacting vocal delivery (think Janis Joplin meets Grace Slick), with said vocal sitting loudly and proudly atop a bubbling bass run from Py Letterlier (the track was also the album’s airplay achieving, attention grabbing lead-off single complete with wild ride, revolving room video).
That it’s time to address that very issue however is made loud and sonically clear on Now Or Nowhere.
The Damn Truth's third album is also perfectly titled, given the time-to-roll-the-sleeves-up-and-show-you-what-we-are-really-made-of attitude applied by Lee-La Baum (lead vocals, guitar, tambourine), Tom Shemer (guitars, keyboards, mandolin, vocals), Py Letterlier (bass, vocals) and Dave Traina (drums, vocals).
Additionally, on the road (pre-pandemic) songwriting and subsequent lockdowns have obviously helped concentrate the collective musical minds of The Damn Truth – whereas the band’s two previous albums were angrier and darker, finger pointing affairs (song titles such as 'White Lies,' 'Pirates & Politicians' and 'Leave it in the Dark' from last album, the drums up front/ White Stripes skewed Devilish Folk, give the blame game away) Now Or Nowhere is primarily positive and optimistic.
Indeed there’s not so much as a nod to COVID-19 or the pandemic, The Damn Truth snubbing their noses at Coronavirus as if it’s simply a minor irritant in their path as they musically drive forward to achieve their goals of love-rock and upbeat roll.
That statement of positive intent is up front and centre from the get-go on opener (and again perfectly titled) 'This is Who We Are Now.'
The song rattles out the gates with rapid-fire snare and psychedelia-tinged guitar and (subtle but effective) organ backing before Lee-La Baum’s "woah-oh yeah!" leads to a feisty and highly impacting vocal delivery (think Janis Joplin meets Grace Slick), with said vocal sitting loudly and proudly atop a bubbling bass run from Py Letterlier (the track was also the album’s airplay achieving, attention grabbing lead-off single complete with wild ride, revolving room video).
The occasional 'Slick' vocal style employed by Lee-La Baum leads to the observation there’s also a more contemporary, Jefferson slanted shade or three of late Airplane/ early Starship (at their rockiest) across some of the tracks on offer.
As example check out the semi-anthemic raunch 'n' roll of 'Tomorrow' (with Guns N Roses styled guitar intro and earworm chorus) and the similarly hooky vibe that accompanies the raucous 'Full On You.'
On the latter Miss Baum gives it, title appropriately, the full on Joplin (heard to maximum 'Janis effect' on the band’s cover of U2’s 'Love is Blindness' on the Yves Saint Laurent Mon Paris perfume video ad).
Nor does it hurt that legendary producer Bob Rock, taken by the band’s work ethic and Indie styled approach, produced six of the nine tracks on offer.
Rock also made a couple of song suggestions that help make Now Or Nowhere not a good album but a great one – the lyrically self-explanatory 'Only Love' (the album’s calling card) was a slower paced, melancholic number in demo form but here positively shines as a Bob Rock suggested slice of harder edged, melodic Americana.
Similarly 'Lonely,' a song familiar to the band’s fans as an A Cappella live number but here Rock-arranged as a muscly, big-beat chant-blues, with Lee-La Baum and Tom Shemer giving it vocal and guitar large as the song shifts a gear.
Bob Rock would have completed the production work if not for the pandemic; luckily Rock’s sextet of songs, along with the band’s trio of self-produced tracks, were blessed by having a quintet of top-notch mixing gurus coming on board to complete the work including Grammy Award winners Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton) and Nick DiDia (Bruce Springsteen, Rage Against The Machine).
Another notable contributor is Juno Award-winning producer Jean Massicotte, who mixed the downtempo and more delicate (but still sonically vibrant) 'Everything Fades,' which acts as the mid-album folk-rock fulcrum track.
Elsewhere 'The Fire' makes its bluesier, mid-tempo mark atop Dave Traina’s tribal drum pattern while impressive and impacting album closer 'Shot ‘Em' is a song the Jefferson Airplane/Starship boys and girl will be asking themselves how they didn’t manage to come up with it first, fifty years ago.
Across nine tracks and 37 minutes, Now Or Nowhere has musically shaped itself as one of the most vital (in both senses) rock and roll albums of recent years – and that’s the damn truth of the matter.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Now Or Nowhere is released on Friday 7th May.
Pre-order here: https://orcd.co/nowornowhere
The Damn Truth will tour the UK in February 2022 as special guests to King King.
Tickets: www.kingking.co.uk
As example check out the semi-anthemic raunch 'n' roll of 'Tomorrow' (with Guns N Roses styled guitar intro and earworm chorus) and the similarly hooky vibe that accompanies the raucous 'Full On You.'
On the latter Miss Baum gives it, title appropriately, the full on Joplin (heard to maximum 'Janis effect' on the band’s cover of U2’s 'Love is Blindness' on the Yves Saint Laurent Mon Paris perfume video ad).
Nor does it hurt that legendary producer Bob Rock, taken by the band’s work ethic and Indie styled approach, produced six of the nine tracks on offer.
Rock also made a couple of song suggestions that help make Now Or Nowhere not a good album but a great one – the lyrically self-explanatory 'Only Love' (the album’s calling card) was a slower paced, melancholic number in demo form but here positively shines as a Bob Rock suggested slice of harder edged, melodic Americana.
Similarly 'Lonely,' a song familiar to the band’s fans as an A Cappella live number but here Rock-arranged as a muscly, big-beat chant-blues, with Lee-La Baum and Tom Shemer giving it vocal and guitar large as the song shifts a gear.
Bob Rock would have completed the production work if not for the pandemic; luckily Rock’s sextet of songs, along with the band’s trio of self-produced tracks, were blessed by having a quintet of top-notch mixing gurus coming on board to complete the work including Grammy Award winners Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton) and Nick DiDia (Bruce Springsteen, Rage Against The Machine).
Another notable contributor is Juno Award-winning producer Jean Massicotte, who mixed the downtempo and more delicate (but still sonically vibrant) 'Everything Fades,' which acts as the mid-album folk-rock fulcrum track.
Elsewhere 'The Fire' makes its bluesier, mid-tempo mark atop Dave Traina’s tribal drum pattern while impressive and impacting album closer 'Shot ‘Em' is a song the Jefferson Airplane/Starship boys and girl will be asking themselves how they didn’t manage to come up with it first, fifty years ago.
Across nine tracks and 37 minutes, Now Or Nowhere has musically shaped itself as one of the most vital (in both senses) rock and roll albums of recent years – and that’s the damn truth of the matter.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Now Or Nowhere is released on Friday 7th May.
Pre-order here: https://orcd.co/nowornowhere
The Damn Truth will tour the UK in February 2022 as special guests to King King.
Tickets: www.kingking.co.uk