I don't know about you, but when I was 13 years old I was just starting to get into punk rock. NOFX, Rancid, The Clash - the very beginnings of delving into an entire medium and lifestyle. I was listening to it, but I certainly wasn't playing it. Not so in the case of Tucson's Truancy. Lead singer Jakob is 13, but you wouldn't know it by listening.
Truancy sound like 80's-90's hardcore mixed with some punk/skate rock thrown in for good measure. It's loud. It's fast. It's not always tight, but did you read the first two things? The blistering noise makes up for it. It sounds like it should: pent-up rage at the societal norms we face everyday being released through distraught youth. This shit is punk rawk.
Truancy's latest EP, Forced Arrival, comes in fast and hits harder from there. The five tracks clock in for a total of 7:18 - now that's what I'm talking about! Zach provides the crunchy-distorted guitar, Shane lays it down with his pick-riddled bass lines and Ian powers through it all on his drum kit. And seriously, how many cigarettes has Jakob smoked? His voice sounds like a grizzled old man who's still working the circuit after all these years... and I mean that with all my heart.
Sadly, Truancy is disbanding soon. Get out to their last show or snag a remaining copy of Forced Arrival so you can say you "knew them when" as the members of Truancy move on to other projects.
