Trucker - Self-Titled EP

Album review by Chris Wagner

The latest addition to the local music catalog comes by way of Lawrence's own Trucker. With their eponymous debut, the trio has assembled a sampler of their Seattle-tinged, radio-friendly rock, juggling contemplative, chiming verses with punchy, distorted choruses with nearly every song. Despite a few obvious stylistic reflections, and what may have been a somewhat rushed production, Trucker adds enough of their own personality to narrowly dodge the copycat bullet.

The opening track ("Go Out") begins with an acoustic guitar and an almost swing feel to the verses, a la "Moondance", over which singer Todd Johnson broods about futility ("sick and tired/of being sick and tired/no desire/ to keep us all from fire/television...") before lashing out ("get high, get drunk... gimme something that's real") with a loud, roots-rocky behind-the-beat chorus. Unfortunately, Johnson's vocals and guitar tone seem to fight each other for space in the mix when the overdrive kicks in, obscuring the lyrics (this turns out to be a persistent bug).

"Never Missing You" follows close behind, with more than a nod to early STP; the tune is so "Seattle", it could have been an outtake from In Utero if not for Johnson's vocal delivery (the louder numbers appear to be to blame for a somewhat nasal shifting in the choruses). Despite the grinding intro riff, this song ultimately wants for a center of interest, and strikes me as the weakest track.

The verses on "Right Next To You" call to mind Neil Young's "Harvest Moon", with acoustic guitars creating a serene backdrop for the vocal melody; unfortunately, the studio processing which fleshes out the verses ends up overpowering the more assertive chorus, absolutely drenching it in reverb and distracting from Johnson's optimistic serenade. Still, the overall mood of the song frees him to sing more naturally, shedding some rather obvious comparisons (i.e. the what's-their-names from Creed or Days of the New).

Not including the radio mix of "Go Out", "Your Own Way" closes the disc on another rocker; the bombastic intro gives way to Johnson reflecting on ending a relationship ("... time to put your life on the shelf/and you pray that you'll meet someone else) before again stomping the distortion into the chorus. The dynamic shift back into the verse keeps "Your Own Way" more focused than "Never Missing You", and leaves more breathing room in the mix .

Make no mistake; Trucker doesn't break any new ground. In fact, their influences are pretty well attached to their sleeves. Nevertheless, the playing is relatively confident and tasteful (courtesy of Tom Barletta and Wayne Rasmuss), and when Johnson occasionally relaxes enough to escape the lockjaw delivery made popular by rock radio (see Creed, Days of the New), his voice seems more pure, fitting the songs better (usually during quieter passages; in fact, the less "Rock" numbers tend to be Johnson's strongest suit). Overall, Trucker fall into a few stylistic traps here and there, but with time they should come to recognize this and forge their own identity.

--Chris Wagner