Review Summary: Lets see how many vehicle puns we can fit in the trunk...
Alberta. My home province, and one I can proudly say has almost as many metal bands as it does wealthy rednecks with big Ford trucks. Speaking of trucks, the aptly named Truck to whom this review is obviously dedicated hail from Calgary, Alberta, all but a short drive away from the mystical rocky mountains. Combining highway friendly grooves, jazzy bridges and crunchy riffage, Truck's debut Post Music drives real nice. Thanks to mature songwriting, Truck's wheels keep rolling smoothly from start to finish and take the listener back to the days of cruising down the highway in the passenger seat, watching the world go by in a blur of green shades and myriad snowy peaks patiently kept by the blue yonder.
Instrumental music is a tricky lane to drive in. Within the rather limited niche, standing out isn't so easy when Nobel-prize worthy musicianship (ie: Blotted Science) saturates the market. Yet instead of discouraging talent to migrate elsewhere, the instrumental metal scene is thriving in its own underground market. Falling in line with acts like Sithu Aye and Animals As Leaders, Truck might not boast the same level of complexity as said bands, but they do bring a wonderfully abundant level of accessibility to their heaviness with catchy anthemic riffs and melodies that can appreciated by the lay listener and metal aficionado alike.
Examined within the grand scope of its virtues, Post Music's greatest strengths rest firmly in the hands of the production and songwriting. There's no technical wankery here, thank god; just lots of horsepower pushing Truck down the highway in style. The production is balanced, and clean as a whistle, juxtaposing clean bridges with hefty guitar tones that don't get lost in their own reverb. But production values without songwriting ability leaves you with djent, and djent Truck certainly is not.
Post Music is a fitting title here really, because this is quite unlike much else in the industry. The calm bridge on A Breather is reminiscent something off Agalloch's The White Ep, while moments like the opener on Ituchu Of Knule break open the listeners heart chakra and pour a magical level emotion into the air, only to crush the ambiance with an anthemic riff fest relatable to a old Tool song.
Really the only weaknesses found on Truck's Post-Music is the lack of vocals, which induces some redundancy in repeated listens. Yet even so, all is not lost as a version of this with guests vocals from a trunk full of artists is in the works. This release may fall by the wayside for those more akin to vocal driven tunes, but for those who like to cruise in the far left lane, this release ought be right up your driveway.
Post-Music is a pretty solid, entertaining instrumental release worth at least a couple cursory listens, and for those who find the unique mystique in Truck's machine, she won't be getting rusty any time soon.
