November Album of the Month
How does one pick just one album to review in November? There is so much good and varied stuff coming out this month but, for Great Music Stories, it’s time for the rock Truck to roll in again this November. Trucker Diablo have unleashed their career-best album to date: a collection of songs that showcase their fine ear for melody, their skill at song arrangement and the natural talent for recording songs that will effortlessly translate into crowd pleasers during a live set.
Over the last decade, there has been such a long tradition of fine rock talent coming out of Northern Ireland: Triggerman, Screaming Eagles, Gasoline Outlaws, Baleful Creed and Safire are just some of the acts that took off on my Friday Rockshow between 2015-17. Long before attention turned to Wales – and the discussion on what was in the rock water over the Severn Bridge – the bands of Northern Ireland were the bands re-writing the rock map of the UK. And for us, it all started with Trucker Diablo. They were the first.
Compared to a decade ago, some of the Northern Irish bands have stopped, some have changed formation – but with Trucker Diablo, the truck is still rollin.’
Their sound is so defined as being them. The big riffs, the melodic infusion and the rousing choruses create the signature sound of a band that’s given us many playlist favourites over the years. Thinking of the band’s big songs, I’m reminded of the emotional beauty of ‘Where Angels Fly’, the infectious feel-good factor of ‘Let’s Just Ride’ and the rousing rally cry of ‘Fighting For Everything’. Add to this Tom’s solo work – which was an immediate hit with listeners – and you have a legacy of consistency in terms of quality song-writing. For a band approaching its 20th anniversary, the power to endure is perhaps the most real and meaningful measure of success for any band today. It’s not about the marketing garnish of the likes, the bots and the streams; the truth is always and only about the music and its natural power to connect with people. Trucker Diablo build on this rich recording legacy with their new album – a creative musical hand grenade that is sure to turn heads, make an impact and win over more new fans to the band.
From my first full listen, there was a strong sense of band togetherness with this new studio album. I spoke a fair bit with Tom during my lockdown broadcasts and I remember the discussions on how they adapted to writing and recording during a time of seismic and enforced change. For all the convenient merits of sending audio files to each other remotely, you can feel the difference in the music when a band like Trucker is in a room together. The music feels more alive, more intuitive and more cohesive. ‘Social Hand Grenade’ feels like a very ‘natural’ album. You can sometimes tell when bits of song are being glued together; in contrast, this album feels like a rehearsed band performing as a unit in the recording studio.
Now onto the 10 album tracks – the perfect length for a nice slab of vinyl!
‘Kill The Lights’ opens the new album with immediate attack, urgency and purpose. A perfect song for a live set although the song title may make it more apt as a set closer than an opener. This song has signature Trucker swagger – and at 2 mins 48 secs it packs a punch concisely. In terms of length, I was reminded a little of ‘Stone Cold Crazy’ – there’s real class in big bangers that can throw the kitchen sink at you in under 3 minutes.
‘Stop The Bleed’ maintains early momentum, a song defined by big riffs and the melodies. A great sing-along rocker, with a hint of menace to add the drama. Also a great guitar solo, which has room to breathe properly.
A change of tempo next with ‘California On The Run.’ This has a similar vibe to ‘Let’s Just Ride’ and with the Southern Rock infusions you can feel the sun on your face with this song. This is road-trip music and, let’s be honest, we’ve all got a bit of Country in us. From start to finish this one shines, it’s one of the album highlights. Also coming it at 5 and half minutes, the song is as long as it needs to be; the outro adds something to the spirit of the song that a radio edit may have killed it by chopping it off. I’ve never been a fan of three minute songs for radio.
Social commentary time comes next with ‘Here Come The Vultures’ – a song that seems to reference the not-so-good side of social media and the tribalism that can be so damaging – “Every time I speak I get shot down.” It’s quite a simple song but the repeats from the lyric lines and their rhythmic qualities give the song a real sense of power without having to be too angry. This is cleverly done as Trucker Diablo deliver their own classy social hand grenade. It’s one of my favourites on the album, I found myself singing along to it in the car the first time I played it.
Social commentary done, it’s now ‘We Are the Champions’ time as Trucker deliver a big anthem fit for a stadium. ‘Together We Will Rise’ is a bona fide power ballad. Rock radio may dislike ballads nowadays – something I’ve never understood because the biggest rock hits of yesteryear were mostly ballads. Tom’s voice is perfectly suited to melodic power ballads and I have a feeling this song will become a firm favourite on the Friday Rockshow. And the great thing about songs like these is their power to unite people – as Tom sings “All it takes is the power of one.” Right there, the healing power of music to help us get through troubled times.
Up next it’s ‘Dig’ as the album gets back to the heavy bangers that opened up the track sequence. This is one for the headbangers, it was an early single for the album and it will be great when it comes to getting a live crowd bouncing. This song is followed by ‘We Are Forever’ which I found to be more interesting. A fast-paced, uplifting rocker that really pulls you in. No one does these kind of rock songs better than Trucker. For me, this one should have appeared earlier in the album sequence. And again, at 5 minutes in length, the outro adds to the life of the song.
Into the final section of the album, ‘Show Me The Way’ is sandwiched between the two standout tracks from this release. ‘Here’s To Heartbreak’ has already had a four-week run on the Friday show, powered by requests each week. An emotionally-charged melodic anthem with great guitar crescendo. Following from ‘Let’s Just Ride’, here we have the next chapter in the band’s rich track record for writing well-crafted and fluently-arranged radio hits. I doubt this will leave the playlist this side of Christmas.
And we have a twist to conclude the album. ‘What I See’ is a song Tom wrote for his son. A sign perhaps that we’re all getting a bit older and some of us may see the world through our children’s eyes. This is such a tender and heartfelt song – and despite Trucker’s love for making a right old racket in the studio, they are also a band that do ‘less is more’ so very well. Great vocal, with Tom fully immersed in the emotion of the song. There’s also great control in the rock flourish which doesn’t need to be more than it is. This is the kind of song that few of Trucker’s peers can produce quite so well – and it is, without question, the best song on the album.
So there you have it. A band fast approaching their 20th anniversary but still true to the reasons they formed in the beginning. A band of brothers in it for the music, doing things on their terms and comfortable with who they are. Young bands starting out today, turn off the socials, mute the marketing noise machine and buy some Trucker albums – and really listen to them. Trucker Diablo’s music story embodies the truth of what success really is in the rock world today. And two decades in, they’ve just landed the finest, most complete and most rounded album they have ever done.
Website and webstore links:
https://bigtruckkeepsonrolling.com
https://truckerdiablo.bandcamp.com/music
Album launch live dates:
14th Nov – Bannermans, Edinburgh
15th Nov – Waterloo Bar, Blackpool
16th Nov – The Patriot, Crumlin, Wales
