Culture

Aquatic Lab
(4/5)

Truth’s halfstep swagger is no lightweight matter. Disembodied vocals lie in industrial bass-weight as the trio pursues sound as physical presence, with walls of low-end set against pneumatic percussion. Their debut album, Puppets has to be felt to be believed.
   There are no gimmicks here. Truth is not chasing high-rotate on your radio dial, and they’d never employ an inexpensive pop-star to strain a puppetry cliché to validate the album title. These songs are beasts at home in Funktion One rigs, in front of heaving masses who want no compromise in their music. There is none given. Truth’s full-length album is an expansion of the musical vision laid down last year with their debut single ‘The Fatman,’ released on renowned label Deep Medi. Heaving bass drives the songs with brutal efficiency, as single, haunting phrases are chopped up by scissoring hats and blinding snares. There is no need to rewrite the script. Truth’s strength lies in doing what a myriad of other producers are doing in Aotearoa (and the world) right now, just way better. 
   Although fourteen tracks can be a long time to maintain this momentum, the album is programmed well. The pace builds toward the fever pitch of Masters of the Stars and the crushingly overwrought Under Current, a collaboration with Ben Verse that sees synth-lines attack each other with apocalyptic fervour. By the time their eponymous debut single drops at the end of the album, there are only two options – handle the Truth, or get the fuck out of the way.