The third album from The Damn Truth, Now Or Nowhere is the culmination of nine years’ hard work, and oh boy has it paid off. With the band having caught the attention of legendary producer Bob Rock (who lends his hand to six of the tracks on offer here), The Damn Truth hit The warehouse Studio in Vancouver, only to have production halted by COVID. Undeterred, the band simply waited out the worst and then reconvened with Juno-award-winning producer Jean Massicotte before engaging Vance Powell (Jack White), Nick DiDia (rage Against The Machine) and Mike Plotnikoff (Van Halen, Cranberries) to mix the record. For those counting, that makes for three Grammy winners on one album (Bob Rock, Vance Powell and Nick DiDia), which tells you in what esteem the band are held within the industry. Hard rocking, but with a remarkable ear for melody, The Damn Truth have a secret weapon in Lee-La, who sings like an angel and rocks like the devil. An assured musician, she leads the band on nine tracks that crackle with energy, and it’s hard to imagine this record not sending the band in the general direction of the stratosphere.
Kicking off with blazing single This Is Who We Are Now, The Damn Truth put forward a powerful mission statement that combines catchy melodies, fiery guitars and a vocalist who captures the kaleidoscopic confidence of Janis Joplin at full tilt. With Bob Rock producing, the sound is HUGE, which is as well because the band have some serious chops on display and, if you’re not standing atop the furniture waving your shirt around your head by the time the song crashes to an end, then you’re doing it wrong!
Where to go when you’ve comprehensively wowed your audience? Well, for The damn Truth, it’s straight for the stadiums, with the stair-stepping intro to Tomorrow. While the opening may trigger goose bumps, Lee-La’s vocal draws us insistently towards a hulking riff that sounds like the love child of Led Zeppelin and Clutch. It’s epic in all the right ways, and the track will leave you on the ropes, gasping for air.
Having opened with the sort of one-two punch of which most bands can only dream, The Damn Truth finally relent with Only Love, a heart-felt track that draws on the close-knit harmonies of The Beatles before exploding into vibrant life (apparently at the insistence of Bob Rock), transforming itself into a melody-fuelled anthem that is as catchy as it is hedonistic. At a time when the world seems to have been getting darker, it’s a much-needed splash of colour, and the soaring leads that bring it to a head are guaranteed to bring out the air guitarist in even the most staid of souls. In contrast, Lonely is the blues as filtered through Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa, moving from slinky, whispered intro to full-on rocker with deft skill.
Reminiscent of UYI-era G’n’R, Everything Fades is rooted in Americana and delivered with panache. With multi-tracked vocals and a harmony to die for, it has everything required to make for a classic single. However, the band are not content to rest on their laurels, and The Fire raises the spectre of John Bonham with drums large enough to rattle even Kiss in their stadium pomp. The guitars are to the fore on Look Innocent but, just as you think you’ve got it pegged, the band spin you around and offer up a rather more intimate, soulful number. Next up, an album highlight can be found in Full On You, a track that harks back to the golden era of rock on the radio, and which will have you singing along at every inappropriate juncture possible, from the shower to the board room… don’t say you weren’t warned! The album ends, and far too damn quickly, with Shot ‘Em, a dynamic rocker with epic sensibilities. It’s a phenomenal finale to a phenomenal album, and if you don’t want to reach over and hit play once more, then you may well be clinically dead (or at least terminally uncool).
With its pristine production, gorgeous melodies and exquisite musicianship, Now Or Nowehere is neither retro-fetishist nor ultra-modern – it is simply great music, perfect for any era and liable to echo down the ages. It’s one of those albums that you just know is everything the band is, distilled into nine memorable tracks and delivered with a confidence that is entirely irresistible. Album of the year? You’d better believe it. 10/10
