Truly:
Fast Stories... From Kid Coma By Dana Hopkins
Truly kicks out the jams motherfuckers!
That's right, as in MC5. Their song "Tragic Telepathic (Soul Slasher)"
gives MC5 a run for their money. This ain't no John Spencer Cartoon Explosion!
Truly is the true thing. Any band that can hob nob with MC5 is definitely worth
a listen.
"Tragic Telepathic" gets you off like the first great rock songs
you heard did. It's got a trippy riff that sounds like bumblebees playing elastic
guitars; swirly, psychedelic vocals and propulsive drums. Robert Roth is a mountain
lion in heat when he screams "Now!" and "Stra-a-anglin'".
He's the punkest. But this isn't any nihilistic, punk ronk[sic] angst filled
scream of pain and alienation but rather a howl of affirmation. It adds up to
one big "yes!"
Truly first attracted my attention with a '93 Sub Pop single "Leslie's Coughing
up Blood" (included on Fast Stories). Fast Stories is just as good. The album
is a grungy, garagey nightscape, thick with guitars, and full of druggy hazy
manifestation of love and desire that blend into one another like hours upon
hours of foreplay. These are filtered through a blue psychedelic lens (song
titles include "Blue Flame Ford" and "Blue Lights") and translated into today.
The songs range from subdued to to the all-out rockers sequenced like alternating
periods of dozing off and blurts of kisses.
The occasional flashback to sixties pop vocal groups are resuscitated with
taste and grace. "Hot Summer 1991" with it's phrase "summer's gone" sung in
a multi-part harmony sounds like the Mamas and the Papas. A few like "Hurricane
Dance" make excellent use of a mellotron keyboard further enhancing the sixties
feel. Truly is truly good. Highly recommended.
(Focus, July 13, 1995)