Band: whatistruth
Title: No Caps EP
Label: N/A
Release Date: 2009
Review By: Scott L
Tracklisting:
- One Step Ahead, Like A Carpenter Who Makes Stairs
- Plural Words
- This Isn’t Flying, It’s Falling With Style
Through some cruel twist of Hollywood programming, every time I read this band’s name… I hear it in my head as if it were being spoken by Morpheus from The Matrix. You know, in that resonant, punctuated, knowing tone. “What… is… truth?” But you won’t any red or blue pills to take here. And just because their name’s phrased like the answer to a Jeopardy question, doesn’t mean you’ll walk away any smarter for having listened. But you may just walk away entertained. And that’s something.
whatistruth is a 6-piece out of Rochester, Minnesota that plays a familiar brand of emotive hardcore. This will be standard fare for fans of blessthefall, We Came As Romans, or Dance Gavin Dance. Undergirded by quick tempo drums, chunky guitars, and thundering bass… these guys clearly put an emphasis on the vocals. Even though this EP is only three songs, the band throws just about everything they can muster at the listener. Clean vocals, rough screams, deep growls, gang vocals, spoken word. You name it and it’s probably in there. And to great affect. The result is an added layer of delivery that lends a bit of freshness in a genre that’s growing quickly stale due to overpopulation and mind-numbing repetition. As is, it’s not quite enough to lift whatistruth above the pack… but it is a nice glimpse of what they could do with a full-length release.
Lyrically, whatistruth’s messages are surprisingly astute for a young band playing this style of music. And while inspiration can come from a myriad of sources, it would seem that the underlying source for these guys is the word of God. Applied to life and relationships, no doubt, but the foundation of scripture is refreshing. Consider the song “Plural Words” which says, “keep dreaming on dreamer / sing on and on and on / this never ending agony chooses to stay / keep dreaming on dreamer / sing on and on / you look through rose colored lenses / be open and hear my song / we wished we lived in music boxes / winding down to a calm and peaceful halt / watching yourself twirl around in the box / you know it’s not your fault / that’s what you’d like to believe / you think it’s not your fault / it hits you in the face / as if you had vertigo / and we will dream, O Lord / we will sing, Lord our King / let us dream of tomorrow / let us dream / let us dream of tomorrow”.
The standout track of the three on this EP was the opening track. First impressions are critical for a young band looking to get noticed and “One Step Ahead, Like A Carpenter Who Makes Stairs” does it. In spite of the ludicrously long name, a current market trend that I personally can’t wait to see replaced, this song struck me full force and left me with the uneasy realization that if early Further Seems Forever had ever gone screamo… this is what they would have sounded like. The following tracks drop into obscurity relatively quickly, but this one leaves an indelible impression.
The band’s myspace says this, “We are all believers in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Without Him we’d be nothing. We play music not to glorify ourselves, but to glorify Him. This is our ministry, the best way we know to share Christ’s love through the gifts He’s given us. He’s called all His children to tell others of His grace and love. We try everyday to live up to that calling. But we fall short, don’t let that distract from God’s character, He never falls short. If you have any questions about God, or need help in whatever situation, message us and we promise we’ll talk. To our fellow believers: If you see your brother or sister living in the dark, reach out to them. Light exposes Dark but never does Dark expose Light. Show them the love that your Creator shows you. If you need encouragement or prayer, we’re eager to talk. We love the music we play and the people we’ve met doing it. To fans, friends and fellow bands: We love you.”
Overall: whatistruth is a band that I really think could make a legitimate splash in the market. But to do it, they need to stick to their strengths and push the boundaries a little bit more. Worth a listen for sure, but time will tell if these guys are gonna step up to the plate or let themselves be lost and forgotten in the crowd.
www.myspace.com/whatistruthrock