IN REVIEW: Monster Truck - "Sittin' Heavy"

Over the course of a pair of EPs and full-length debut Furiosity in 2013, Monster Truck have quickly built a loyal fan base and racked up a handful of Cancon rock staples (see Seven Seas Blues, Righteous Smoke, Sweet Mountain River, Old Train, etc.). The safest route for the group to take, then, would be to deliver more of the same. At first glance, it appears as though they've done just that.

Once again enlisting the production services of Eric Ratz and with a design layout very similar to that of Furiosity (both records have photo collages on one side of the insert and lyrics on the other), the only place Sittin' Heavy has a chance to differ is in the songs themselves. Wisely, the band is careful not to tinker too much with their core sound, as evidenced by lead single Don't Tell Me How To Live; it finds the thick grooves and powerful riffs Monster Truck have designated as the foundation of their sound very much intact here.

Elsewhere, there are plenty of tunes that will easily slot in alongside their back catalogue; Another Man's Shoes, The Enforcer (a hockey song, fulfilling every Canadian band's rite of passage) and New Soul are the closest cousins to past Monster Truck hits, and they're sure to please the majority of fans. A few others are slight variations, such as the amped-up opener Why Are You Not Rocking?, the seemingly Clutch influenced She's a Witch and the sludgy To the Flame.

Sittin' Heavy is no mere carbon copy of Furiosity, though, and it's when the band shows off new tricks that the album gets really interesting. The most glaring deviation here has to be For the People, a supercharged take on Skynyrd that features some slick slide guitar work by Big Wreck's Ian Thornley; the song's near-country vibe should be a detriment, but they find a way to make it all work. The same can be said for the bluesy, soaring Things Get Better, which uses piano as a backbone and piles guitars and melodies on top.

Then, there's the pair of ballads, not so much a departure (previous record's For the Sun was most definitely one, and a welcome one at that) as a couple more examples of the band's increased chops in terms of working within slower tempos. Album closer Enjoy the Time is a classic "lighters up" moment with elastic guitar licks and a massive, highly melodic chorus. The real gem here, though, is Black Forest; riding in on a thunderclap and a Floydian keyboard intro before blossoming into a muscular stew of Metallica's The Unforgiven serving as meat and Zeppelin, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains as veggies, the track isn't just a reprieve from the quicker and crunchier material, it's a jaw-dropping album highlight.

Not every song is a slam dunk, and the lyrics won't be the basis of anyone's thesis, but this was never intended to be high art or a bid at superstardom. Sittin' Heavy ends up sounding like exactly the album Monster Truck should have released when it comes to following up the success of Furiosity. Smart enough to give fans more of what they want, but bold enough to suggest that they might like to have something a little different as well, after a half dozen listens or so this record comes out a clear winner on both counts.

February 19, 2016 • Dine Alone

Highlights Don't Tell Me How To Live • For the People • Black Forest

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