Holy Trinity River - Let It Die
The debut four song EP from Luke Strickland and the boys of HTR is the soundtrack to a visit to the bar. If you strolled into a place with a strong desire for more than just a couple beers and these fellas were diving into “The Shaker” you’d know you were at the right place. Acoustic and relatively plain this is no frills rock and roll with a twist of country here and there. Followed up by “Magnolia” you’d likely be on your second beer as the boys rock a little bit more of a jam style (think early early O.A.R) and it’d be easy enough to relax and maybe start looking around the room checkin’ out who there might be to chat it up with.
By "C.O.C.K" you’d be on your third beer and feeling pretty damn good. You got a lady that you are talking to and the beers going down smooth but then you realize that the intro is misleading and the song itself sounds disconnected and the lyrics not only sound off tune but sound off kilter for the rest of the release. And so you turn around to see what the hell is going on and then the girl is gone. You order another beer.
This one tastes skunked as HTR busts into “3rd Rail”, a downer of a song which completely makes you forget just how psyched you were when you first walked in. And unfortunately it’s their last song - how will you remember them?
Holy Trinity River - Cause Solution
From the first notes on the sophomore album of HTR you know immediately that they acquired a better producer with better studio equiptment and it doesn’t take long for you to realize that they also changed their style a bit as well. That country feel is gone and it sounds more like a straight up rock band. Starting with “Can or Otherwise” and “Pushing Grey” they manage to to slide under the radar - this is more background music than a soundtrack to anything. A pleasant enough soundtrack but certainly not the main attraction.
It’s the odd third song “MC Injun” that really stops you and unfortunately it’s more like stopping for a car wreck than say a family of ducks on the road. References to John Wesley Harding meeting the devil - maybe I just don’t know my serial killer lives but I do know that this is not at all pleasant to listen to - lyrically or musically.
Thankfully though HTR starts to get comfortable with themselves and “Natural Flavor” really shows potential. The music is just rock and roll, again with little to no frills, but there is that little bit of country coming back that they do so well. Again though singer Luke Strickland doesn’t really write lyrics amazing enough to forgo the lack of emotion, confidence, and range his voice has to offer. It all too often comes off as a high schooler trying too hard to sound emotional and unfortunately doesn’t work all that often.
The hightlight of the album is the rockin’ “Rolled Over” which although is no mind blower is the sort of rock that would do well opening for another band - consistent, upbeat enough, foot tappingly good. A consistently average sophomore album from a band that really sounds like they have a great deal of potential, they just need to figure out how to tap that potential so I don’t just tap my feet for a few songs.