Review by Tosh Davies
First and foremost, their t-shirt proclaims “Don’t Fuck With The Truck”! With that statement embedded into my head what was I expecting? Well you know what; it’s a statement that certainly rings true.
Monster Truck first came to my attention when they released their self titled EP a few years ago, this showcased that there was something promising bubbling away. A Canadian export that have the fattest groove and swagger you’ll find this far North of the Mississippi they really have developed into a gargantuan band. Huge riffs and that goddamn infectious groove will make anyone spontaneously gyrate into action, Jon Harvey’s road-hardened vocals scraping to get out. The Southern swagger of opener ‘Old Train’ continues through to ‘The Lion’ which rips along like ZZ Top having illicit relations with Lynyrd Skynyrd . This album has had me hooked since I got it, music is about a feeling and Furiosity makes me feel a very happy goddamn melon farmer. With nods in the direction of Deep Purple and Grand Funk Railroad, the Truck rolls along in a controlled, devouring manner, spreading its funk from the trunk of life.
You just cannot ignore the monumental weight of this album’s delivery, like an elephant carrying two heavy bags of shopping whilst giving another elephant a piggy back; it’s a weighty piece of work. It’s not an all out stomp fest however, laying back is the soulful seven plus minute ‘For The Sun’, a blues-infused chill out that has a solo that would make Joe Bonamassa go back to the practice room. Hints of gospel and a Hammond organ laying a sturdy foundation ensures that Monster Truck leaves an impression in the ground and your hips in an uncontrollable boogie. Sometimes a band comes along that delivers the killer blow, just when you thought you had your album of the year nailed an outsider throws you off your concentration.
Furiosity is a beer swilling, porch rocking, gun polishing, Southern groove fest from a band so far North they should be riding into town on Polar Bears. A groove-laden delight from start to finish, if this doesn’t get you rocking on the porch then you’re a soulless, fried chicken hating deadbeat. Oh, and possibly deaf! Monster Truck, they will be massive and rolling into a town near you soon.
9 out of 10
Track Listing:
- Old Train
- The Lion
- Power of the People
- SweetMountainRiver
- Psychics
- Oh Lord
- For The Sun
- Boogie
- Undercover Love
- The Giant
- Call it A Spade
- My Love Is True
