* To read the Metal Odyssey album review for THE TREWS new album Hope & Ruin, (posted on August 5th, 2011), click on the big header link below:
* For more info on THE TREWS, click on the links below:
LONG LIVE THE TREWS.
Stone.
THE TREWS – One Rock album that I’ve been listening to consistently since it’s April 12th release date is Hope & Ruin from The Trews. Released on Bumstead Productions Ltd., this album is enriched with memorable melodies, standout vocal harmonies and Alternative stylings aplenty. With two gold records and ten top ten singles on their Rock resume, The Trews in my Rockin’ opinion are one of the best of bands imported from The Great White North. Based in Toronto, Canada, The Trews exemplify to me, just how grand a Rock album can sound when equal importance is given to lyrics and music.
Hope & Ruin makes it rather non difficult, when comparing The Trews to their Rock peers such as Counting Crows and Goo Goo Dolls. Song structures, lyrical diligence, tempos and degrees of Rock hardness all come into play when making such a comparison. The Trews just don’t bang-it-out on this album, they play the song and take you on an escalator of Rock, one that is aimed for being memorable and not run of the mill. There’s no question The Trews are accomplished artists and Hope & Ruin solidifies this, in my Rockin’ opinion.
You Gotta Let Me In is the mellow song on Hope & Ruin, with an acoustic listen that also takes advantage of soothing strings to compliment the soothing vocals of Colin MacDonald. Wether you listen to You Gotta Let Me In first or last, this song is a Folk Rock welcome mat from The Trews, which ultimately suggests this band’s admirable level of music appreciation. Upon hearing the guitar intro to The World I Know, the realization that The Trews are about to Rock-it-out is ever apparent. Latter days of The Alarm and early days of R.E.M. jump out at me, while The World I Know is cranked up, reminding me that yes, there is an old school Alternative Rock heaviness swirled about in this song.
Stay With Me is just an undisputed song of Rock excellence, both musically and lyrically. It’s easy for me to say this song would be a number one single on Billboard (if it were only 1985 all over again)… only real Rock music like this in 2011 takes a pounding from teen-Pop on those sacred charts. Rock fans with a pulse, know a number one single with relevance when they hear it and Stay With Me soars. The Trews compliment Stay With Me with yet another foot stomping and body jumping number called: People of the Deer. What this song substantiates, is, the true desire to move your body to Rock and Roll and let the vibes from the song take control.
Misery Loves Company is a short Hard Rock number (2:57) that flirts with a Punk fever tempo and bouncy bop to its beat. No, The Trews are not so diverse on this album that they lose their identity, their sound and semi-raw delivery is all there to be heard and recognized. Love Is The Real Thing encapsulates all good things about The Trews on Hope & Ruin: up-tempo, lyrical competence and a sensibility of some lean, blue-collar Rock, while hovering in and out with an Alternative appeal.
If You Wanna Start Again opens with delicate piano keys, only to become a guitar and chorus driven mover. Colin sings his Rockin’ heart out and John- Angus plays his guitar with unreal memorable licks on this song. The title track is yet another solid song on an already solid Rock album. With the tempo level being raised steadily as Hope & Ruin plays out, this song captivates with its unending Rock passion, from the vocals and backing vocals and all the way along its rhythmic beats. A fabulous title track to have, especially when it’s such an inspiring listen.
On Hope & Ruin, The Trews capture the sound, mood and vibes of Rock, Alternative Rock and Hard Rock with an efficiency that is easy to seize and enjoy. If you’re looking for an album that has been created with Rock discernment in mind, this is for you. Hope & Ruin pours with a sound of Rock that is not only real and sincere, it’s downright distinguished with its Rock stylings. Wether it’s a long drive, party time or you’re just chilling out, this is an album to turn to often for a cool dose of Rock.
THE TREWS:
Colin MacDonald – vocals
John-Angus MacDonald – guitar
Sean Dalton – drums
Jack Syperek – bass
Misery Loves Company
One By One
People Of The Deer
Stay With Me
Hope & Ruin
If You Wanna Start Again
The World I Know
Dreaming Man
I’ll Find Someone Who Will
Love Is The Real Thing
Burned
You Gotta Let Me In
* For more info on THE TREWS, click on the links below:
http://www.myspace.com/thetrews
LONG LIVE THE TREWS.
Stone.
“Big riffs, bigger hooks, anthemic choruses – Canadian Alt-Rockers The Trews bring all of that and more” – Guitar Edge Magazine
THE TREWS’ fourth full-length studio album, Hope & Ruin, due out on The Trews Records on April 12, is a level-raising evolution for the Toronto-based rock band with two gold records, 10 top-10 singles and 800-plus concerts logged. After wrapping up the first leg of touring for 2009’s Acoustic – Friends & Total Strangers retrospective, The Trews found themselves with time off and a blank canvas in front of them for the first time in years. The band decided to retreat to Tragically Hip’s fabled Bathhouse Studio’s, which is an old converted lake house just outside of Kingston, Ontario.
Recorded live-off-the-floor, they captured lightning in a bottle, resulting in a sound that is raw, electric and igniting. Of course, the ripping rockers that have made front man Colin MacDonald; his brother, guitarist John-Angus; their cousin, drummer Sean Dalton; and long-time friend, bassist Jack Syperek one of Canada’s top live acts are still present with the heavy “The World I Know,” unrelenting “Misery Loves Company” and pummeling “People of the Deer.”
“We haven’t forgotten how to rock, but there’s new ground being covered,” says Colin. The Trews have never made an album in the manner in which they recorded Hope & Ruin, and it’s an album they never could’ve made before now. There’s a certain connection, comfort and intuition that’s needed to write and record in such an off-the-cuff, inspired manner. And that takes years to develop.
As the “Hope & Ruin” single continues to climb up the Active Rock charts in The Trews native Canada (currently at #7), the band is receiving accolades from around the globe. Performer Magazine here in the U.S. claims that “The Trews are, without a doubt, the greatest rock band of their generation” and upon their departure from their Australian tour this month, famous native and rock affectionado Russell Crowe tweeted “Bon Voyage @thetrews hope you make it back to Australia soon. They came, they saw, they rocked”
The Trews will be touring the U.S. this Spring.
Hope & Ruin Track Listing:
Misery Loves Company
One By One
People of the Deer
Stay With Me
Hope & Ruin
If You Wanna Start Again
The World I Know
Dreaming Man
I’ll Find Someone Who Will
Love Is The Real Thing
Burned
You Gotta Let Me In
* I’ve listened to One By One, a song currently streaming from Hope & Ruin several times over. The Alternative Rock sound blended with a relevant Classic Rock feel and vibe, makes One By One erupt with all things fabulous about quality songwriting, memorable lyrics and guitar driven Rock Music. I’m really looking forward to landing my ears into this entire new album from The Trews.
* For more info on THE TREWS and to hear One By One streaming, click the links below:
If you’re a band or musician and would like your music reviewed or be interviewed by Stone, please click the link under the “ALBUM REVIEWS ARCHIVES” section below!
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