Vocalist Lee-La Baum of ‘The Damn Truth’, was astounded to answer the phone at 3am in the morning, after supporting Glen Hughes in London. It was Bob Rock, ‘Lets Make A Record’ he said. The result is another collaboration with the legendary producer and the Canadian Hipsters, a self-titled album with 11 tracks recorded over 2 months at Bob’s studio of choice, Bryan Adams’ The Warehouse Studios in Vancouver. The band were also allowed to use a selection of Bob’s personal vintage guitars. For a band that have such a retro vibe this must have been the icing on the cake.
‘Be Somebody’ is a delightful introduction, Lee-La is often compared to ‘Grace Slick’ as she strikes in a similar range. This song and the hooky ‘I Just Gotta Let You Know’ soon cement that parallelism. Lowly bass and high-pitched vocals for ‘Love Outta Here’ while ‘If I Don’t Make It Home’ dives into ballad mode, proving ‘The Damn Truth’ can turn their attention to deeper anthem sounds. The album continues to steady itself with ‘Better This Way’, ‘Mirror, Mirror’ and All Night Long’ the latter having a mellow and laid-back vibe. When we arrive at track 8 ‘The Willow’ with its pipes and soulful guitar intro, there’s a change in the air. Lee-La seeks rasping, squeals and her most emotional vocals, a powerful delivery and gripping throughout. ‘Addicted’ punches through the clouds with rapping lyrics and jazzy chords. It shows how much this band are capable of. ‘Killer Whale’ may be a strange title about losing love but the words ‘I wake up you’re not there I still feel you everywhere, In my veins my breasts my face, I’m hunting for that untouched place, Our ship has sailed I’m a killer whale’ Make sense of it all. The album ends with the amazing feel of ‘The Dying Dove’ and they leave on a high.
The Damn Truth will be released on Friday 14 March via Spectra Musique.
Review by Diane Davies
