Truthpaste - I Don’t Know Either EP Review
A brilliant EP brings Truthpaste's discography up to a 6-for-6 no-filler repertoire.
I discovered Truthpaste by catching their set before The Orchestra (For Now) at Scala, and as much as I adore TO(FN), the cataclysmic clunkiness of Joe Scarisbrick's screamed vocals made me yearn for the twee melodies and plucked guitar of Truthpaste, nought but an hour prior. They have been my go-to band since then; and most of their gigs are still a tenner or less — so please see them while they are still relatively unknown! Get in on the ground floor of the Truthpaste skyscraper!
This new batch of songs are all taken from their live shows, and are recorded in a neatly faithful way, which is a testament to how clean their shows sound. They always seem to know how to make their tunes fit within a room. Often with big, brash modern bands, everything just sorts of melts together into clatter, but the range of tones within their works are too broad: James Ballarò's sharp drumbeats, Theo Murchie's plucked guitar, Esmé Lark's utterly wonderful vocals and sax, rounded out by Claire Sun and Euan McNeill on violin and bass respectively.
‘Never Gonna Give’ is a live set staple, beginning with really hypnotic swirls of synth punctuated by Lark's vocals. Truthpaste's lyrics are on the more abstract side, sure, but still show characters in their little emotional battles, "I'm never gonna give you what you want" goes the repeating cry in ‘Never Gonna Give’. Their lyrics paint little charming portraits, but it's hard to universalise them or get specific without being abstruse — think of "We wrote this verse in Nathan's shed", it seems like a fun little in-joke, but doesn't really connect to anything. But perhaps that's the point!
I seriously enjoy the sense of whimsy that Truthpaste bring to the table in every aspect of their music. They are very good at being fun, which most bands are not. They seem like people who you might enjoy hanging out with, as opposed to the usual self-styled edgy south-London scene adjacent artists — which they might be mildly taking the piss out of in their new music video which accompanies ‘Never Gonna Give’.
Truthpaste are a band you will approach with a smile rather than a vacant expression. Even their names seem personable in a kids' picture-book way! Lark, Sun, Murchie — it's all very quaint. It's refreshing in an age that was definitely dominated by seriousness and cynicism, especially amongst bands who could never strive for anything above violence and takedowns. Reminds me of "No More Sprechgesang" by The Itch...
‘Bus Song’ has been out for a while now, and is a really lovely song with an excellently-edited music video to accompany it. It builds and has a lovely call-and-response deal between Murchie and Lark that works so well, and the lyrics make me think that they're one of the first bands of the post-Windmill scene that write lyrics about being older than their mid-20s. Even Squid (who are now in their mid-30s) haven't particularly grown up from their youthful abstractness, and to cross the pond, Car Seat Headrest's Will Toledo is penning songs like he's still in college.
And the final song, ‘Friendship Is The Truth’, is a little more subdued but definitely still Truthpaste. It's slow but very poignant, and showcases Sun's subtle violin at its best. The scope of Friendship makes me wonder if they're going to attempt to produce a Long Song — one of those 12-minute crescendocore epics that every modern musician eventually decides that it is their god-given right to create. (eg. The Magician, Basketball Shoes, Heath)
Truthpaste are excellent, and still working on new songs that always sound sparky and bright, live or not. Truth to Truthpaste!