Truly - Fast Stories... from Kid Coma (1995)

 

 A lot of people have strong opinions about the word "grunge". It's divisive because its one of the few music genres that doesn't have have definable sound. Pearl Jam and Tad are about as different as Jimi Hendrix and Judas Priest, but they both receive the label "grunge". 

The progenitors of the genre are nearly all from Washington state, and in fact grunge was also referred to as "The Seattle Sound", but if one uses that as a metric then both L7 and Stone Temple Pilots don't get included, which would upset many to the point of pitchforks and torches. Another interesting thing about the genre, if that's what we're calling it, is that none of the people credited with it wanted any ownership of the word. Punk bands proudly call themselves such. Not the case with grunge.

Whether they liked the term or not, Truly was a band from Seattle that no one in their right mind would debate calling grunge. For starters, the rhythm section features founding members of both Soundgarden (Hiro Yamamoto) and The Screaming Trees (Mark Pickerel), 2 of grunge's biggest bands. 

Frontman Robert Roth, the least known member, was actually very well known in Seattle's grunge community of the early 1990s. He was considered to join Nirvana when the band began seeking a second guitarist. Roth's voice actually brings to min
d Kurt Cobain during his most somber moments, and the nasal screeching of Mark Arm from Mudhoney when he screams. His guitar sound is incredibly dense and distorted but without sacrificing melody. Where Truly TRULY stands out is their incorporation of 60's sounds and song styles. "If You Don't Let It Die" almost sounds like The Kinks if they'd been a strung-out Seattle band in the 90s. A Rhodes piano featured on "Angelhead" lends a Doors-esque quality to the song's stoned feeling, not to leave out the use of a mellotron in the song's chorus, harkening to "Strawberry Fields Forever" (Roth would later earn mellotron credits on Built To Spill's Perfect From Now On).

Make no mistake however. While the songs on "Fast Stories... from Kid Coma" all have a psychedelic 60's vibe, the bulk of the sound is firmly rooted in punchy distorted rock music more akin to plaid shirts than paisley bellbottoms. This was producer Adam Kasper's first produced record... his other credits include heavier bands like Soundgarden and Queens of the Stone Age... and he would later go on to winning a grammy for Foo Fighters "There Is Nothing Else to Lose".

This album has been described as grunge music's lost masterpiece. It has also been called grunge's swan song. While it was released to critical acclaim, it seems like it should have been bigger. That said it is almost too weird for what MTV was selling at the time: the tides were shifting away from grunge and toward pop punk and grunge-lite bands like Silverchair. Truly was too dark and heavy for a world still hurting from the death of Kurt Cobain. But in retrospect, this album deserves to be listened to and talked about by those still interested in whatever grunge is (or was). It is a fantastic sounding record that feels like the 1990s. They say the 1990s are back... which is maybe true but you never hear bands like Truly anymore.

Truly - Fast Stories... from Kid Coma

EP Grab Bag vol. 34

Sunken Seas – High Rise (2013)

I love Acid Mothers Temple, and I got a distinct whiff of that band in this first EP from New Zealand’s own Sunken Seas. Layered psychedelic guitar effects hang over a driving, constant beat that eventually introduces a pulsating riff. If you like your rock and roll to be spacey and experimental without losing its rock sensibilities, this is a record for you. As I pull on my work clothes, this is the kind of music I want to hear.

The Inverted Orange – ST (2013)

It was a psychedelic morning here at SpaceRock when I played through the aforementioned release and then this nice release from Prison Art records in Brooklyn. I assumed someone had spiked my coffee with acid, but then I realized I always eat an omelet with magic shrooms. This release is more on the bedroom pop, reverb heavy side of the equation and would be a fine wake up set for any of you struggling to face another day as a mindless wage slave. 

Wonderflu – No End in Sight (2013)

I am on to my drive to work. Lots of assholes moving in and out of traffic. I catch a view of a kid on a skateboard and wish I would have chosen that form of transportation to get to where I need to go. France’s Wonderflu only added to my angst, with their fuzzy 90s inspired power pop and more-than-pissed vocal delivery. 

Gasoline Eyes – Gasoline Thighs (2013)

Speaking of kids, this group from Los Angeles is made up of lads all still in high school. That pisses me off, because this is great lo-fi garage rock that only makes me think of the wasted years I spent as a teenager trying to bang cholas and get trashed. It is pretty lo-fi and heavy on the fuzzy side of rock, but if you read this blog you probably think that is a good thing. I do, and I dig this shit. 

Sneeky Creeps – Bell St. Radio (2013)

Fuck, my boss is a dick. So what if the woman in the cubicle next to me is a uber-Christian and doesn’t like the sweet sound of Slayer? Ok fine, I’ll put something “nicer” on. The Sneeky Creeps are two dudes from Kansas City that make some pleasant mid-tempo trash rock. I really loved this sound back in 1999, and I am glad to see some folks are still out there doing it right. 

Dead Leaf Echo – Thought and Language (2013)

I don’t know about you, but the last 3 hours of my work life is a drunken haze. Today especially so. Too many people have pissed me off, and I need music that will relax me and take me to a different place. Thankfully Dead Leaf Echo has come along with their outstanding new shoegaze release. Tracks like “Kingmaker” provide the lush vocal/guitar harmonies that you have come to expect from the genre, and give me a taste of relief from the terror that is cubicle life.

Space Mountain - Ferry Lane (2013)

How could we pass up reviewing a record from a band called SPACE MOUNTAIN? This Connecticut band’s name says it all and fits comfortably on the ledge of a rock mountain reaching towards the stars. I am getting a noteworthy early-90s indie vibe from these lovely lads on their first release. There is a love for the lo-fi and the jangly riffs that dominated college radio stations 20 years ago. Best of all, the record never takes itself too serious, allowing the group to let it all hang out and enjoy some sloppy jamming. Just listen to the standout track “There U Are” to get a sense of what I mean with its mumbled, half-drunken vocal delivery and whistle-backed harmony. This stuff should make you want to pull out your 4-track and Pavement records and pound away to your heart’s content. 

Get it here:

Space Mountain - Ferry Lane (2013)

Ecstasy of Saint Theresa - Pigment EP (1991)

The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa are an early 90's Czechoslovakian shoegazing band, who now mostly only perform ambient material. This is their first EP, which is a far-cry from the sounds they're making now. I would frequently listen to this EP whilst riding my bike when I was in high school.


Download:
The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa - Pigment EP (1991, Self-Released)