Truck Violence played Deep Cuts – 9/15
Montreal outfit Truck Violence made their way to Medford for their first Boston-area show, joined by Deathless Forever and Trophy Hunt.
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Perhaps it’s all the existential doom in the air these past several years, but if you’re a fan of gnarly, boundary-pushing noise rock, the scene has been good to you. The rise of Chat Pile, the return of The Jesus Lizard and new forms of heavy weirdness from the likes of Prostitute, YHWH Nailgun and Crippling Alcoholism have all channeled particular strains of modern dread into music that toes the line of upsetting and cathartic.
Enter Canadians Truck Violence, whose 2024 sort-of-self-titled Violence wove folk and hardcore influences into a unique brew that both complemented and stood out from their contemporaries (and Flenser labelmates). June’s sophomore release The Weathervane Is My Body both sharpened the attack of their sound and finally got the band on the road for a proper North American tour that hit Deep Cuts earlier this month.
Lurching and apocalyptic, but at the same time strangely tender and personal (particularly on the hushed banjo number “Guns Buried in the Front Yard”), their headlining set was a pummeling and emotional ride. Vocalist Karsyn Henderson is a riveting frontman who shares a certain beleaguered air with Chat Pile’s Raygun Busch but is also very much operating in his own lane. The rest of the band (guitarist/banjoist Paul Lecours, bassist Chris Clegg and drummer Ryley Klima) similarly heaved themselves all-in on a short but impactful split between the band’s two LPs that left it all on the stage.
Self-described “ecstatic grind” crew Trophy Hunt – featuring ex-Seed vocalist Lux Lucidi on the mic – opened up the night with what I would accurately describe as “ecstatic grind.” Instrumentally blazing and fueled by a classic crowd-interactive, throat-shredding Lux performance, they were a force. Similarly blistering was a set from Western MA’s Deathless Forever (fka Space Camp), who are surely one of the heaviest bands out to feature keys as a lead instrument and a healthy dose of trombone. A little bit Lightning Bolt, a little bit jazz-metal, all extremely compelling.
Check out photos from all three sets below.
