Hamilton’s long haired, badass, fuzzy riffing rock dudes, Monster Truck, are back with a long anticipated new single. “Evolution” is the first single off the upcoming album “True Rockers” which is due out on September 14th.
It is an understatement to say that Monster Truck had massive success after their 2016 release “Sittin Heavy”. The guys won a Juno, toured the world with some rock heavyweights and sat comfortably on the throne of new Canadian classic rock. The critically acclaimed sophomore album debuted at #3 on the Top 200 Canadian SoundScan chart and featured Top 5 Canadian rock radio hits “Don’t Tell Me How to Live” and “For The People”, as well as the ultimate glorious hockey anthem “The Enforcer”, which was featured on Hockey Night in Canada and was used as the goal song for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The tracks on “Sittin Heavy” are, to borrow a phrase from another Canadian band, all killer no filler.
“Evolution” boldly announces a change for Monster Truck. Says guitarist Jeremy Widerman of the new track, which sees the band embracing a more modern rock aesthetic on both their songwriting style and production quality, “We wanted to try something a little different for Evolution…something with a bit more of a modern edge to our classic rock formula to convey a dire yet seemingly obvious message about the future.” A band’s evolution is a difficult thing. Musicians will strike gold doing things a certain way and will eventually follow their creativity to tinker with their sound. You can’t box creative people in. It just doesn’t work because creative change is inevitable.
Monster Truck’s new single has the tell-tale signs of new polish. Gone is the fuzz, the raw sound, and the bad-ass dirty classic rock that’s made them so explosively popular. Instead we have a song that is produced at a higher level; it is smooth and even listening. The chorus is that of a radio song and the arrangement is also very familiar. The thing that sets it apart, upon repeated listening, is the bridge. That “time is coming up… get ready” part is perhaps a little overcooked. All things considered, “Evolution” is a solid song that will probably do very well. It’s understandable that Monster Truck want to punch out of the box they’ve been put in and try new things. Here’s hoping the rest of the album leaves room for a little bit of fuzz and sonic imperfection.
Monster Truck is Jon Harvey (vocals & bass), Jeremy Widerman (guitar & vocals), Brandon Bliss (organ & vocals) and Steve Kiely (drums & vocals).
Check out upcoming Monster Truck tour dates and more information.
