Review Summary: Trvth dares to explore into his inner thoughts, and it pays off.
Experimentation is quite a gamble when it comes to a musician’s decisions. On one hand, you could be praised for originality, artistic integrity, evolving your sound, and just generally making an effort to avoid repetition. On the other hand, you could end up being criticized for a lack of cohesion, flow, or just failing to be consistent enough in your discography. Few could know this better than one-man experimental project Trvth. The only riskier decision than reaching for new ground is constantly pumping out new music in a short period of time, and Trvth has released two full-length albums and two EPs this year alone. From the 17-minute long black metal tracks found on
Black Horse Plague to the strange spoken word elements on
Earth is Dust, Michael Smith has managed to cover an incredible amount of genres in just two years. And with his newest EP, entitled
Inner Thoughts, Smith has crossed over and established himself within instrumental rock as well.
Now, if you’re looking for a “short and sweet” type of experience here, be warned: Only three out of the seven songs on the EP are less than eight minutes long. Yet for some reason, the music never seems to drag on or become monotonous in its delivery. Also, as aforementioned, the EP is entirely instrumental (with the exception of the outro to the closing track), meaning that those who were turned off by Smith’s vocals from earlier works can breathe a sigh of relief whilst listening to this. And Smith doesn’t slack off with his instruments, either. There’s a ton of variety within his arsenal, from the ethereal synths and ambient noise in “Fire Inside” to the more traditional rock elements on opener “Don’t Die”. But Trvth saved the best for last, as the final three tracks, particularly “V”, are all excellent homages to the countless progressive rock and jazz influences on the EP. Sure, the bass can be a little obnoxious at times, and the style is really hit-or-miss due to such a departure from Trvth’s more popular works, but in the end, it works as a nice melting pot of different genres and ideas.
Truth be told, if consistency is a big factor when it comes to judging music, this album and most of Trvth’s musical endeavors in general probably won’t click with you. But if you’re looking for a mellow, enjoyable ride through the mind of Michael Smith after listening to something more intense like
Approaching, then this is without a doubt an EP that should be in your crosshairs as soon as possible.
