Jono Moulds checks out the debut single from Truck for The Rock & Roll Circus."Make Hay" from Revered Australian Rock Figures Andy McLean (Horsehead) & Dave Leslie (Baby Animals), was released on 3 December 2021.
The song roars to life with the sound of an engine rumbling into action. Then Dave Leslie’s distinctive guitar sets the scene … Welcome to ‘Make Hay’, the debut single for Truck, the new band for two mainstays of the Aussie rock scene – Horsehead’s Andy McLean and Baby Animals’ Dave Leslie.
Mixed by the legendary Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, Baby Animals, Cold Chisel, Led Zeppelin, Silver-chair), ‘Make Hay’ is the first single from Truck’s debut EP, Light-hill, which will be released early 2022 on Reckless Records.
Unsurprisingly, the first thing you hear on the opening of the new single from ‘Truck’ is in fact, well, a truck’s engine starting up (simple, but effective ). The dissipates quickly as the first notes of the guitar are heard as the welcoming party to this brand-new single.
As Mclean is eager to state - ‘The ‘Make Hay’ message is simple: No matter what shit is happening in your life, a great rock song – and a great rock band – can save you’. “I make hay while the sun shines every day,” Andy sings. “And I sway when the shit comes flying my way.”
“It’s easy to write aggressive, angry rock songs,” Andy notes. “But there seems to be a real positive vibe to ‘Make Hay’. And as we come out of the fog of COVID, a feeling like that seems appropriate.”Musically, ‘Make Hay’ is a nod to classic bands like Steppenwolf.
As the jagged, muted guitar introduction ends, the first thing you notice is the great groove that the track has. The tempo feels just about right, as we smoothly transpose from its opening through to the first verse, where ‘Hunt’s’ Bass and ‘Deegan’s’ Drums keep things ‘locked in and real’ and fixes the rhythm down perfectly.
It’s not long before ‘McLean’ kicks in (vocally that is), as he sings ‘Every time I wake up, I feel like flicking shit off my shoe’, as the vocals hit home, loud and proud. The verse is played out over the same chord/note arrangement, but yet again, ‘Hunt’s’ top bass runs mix things up, so you don’t really notice this, as the song rumbles through its initial stages.
All things change though as the pre-chorus starts off with an array of backing vocals exclaiming ‘Hey, hey, hey!!’ as we move through the gears toward the chorus, which, has an instant attraction, both in terms of its positive theme and just how damned catchy it is. There is more great support vocal and some lovely ‘riffage & lickage’ on display by ‘Leslie’, which adds so much character to it.
There’s a nice guitar piece that links the end of the chorus to the start of the second round of verses, which follows the same pattern as the first, but this time the verse is curtailed, before we get back to the pre-chorus and obviously, another full-on chorus.
After this, we get the unusual, but welcome organ solo (as opposed to what I thought would most certainly be a guitar piece), which is fantastically backed up by more guitar licks and superb bass/drums.
Straight after this, the mood changes, as guitars dissipate, until light feedback is all that’s left and the vocals fade out, where we are left with just piano, bass and drums to keep us company.
This section has an almost ‘dreamscape’ vibe about it, as the first verse is sung over this ‘low-key’ version. The vocals kick back in, but this time, there is some falsetto thrown in for good measure, to keep with the overall feel, as the guitar ‘flicks’ in and out with some great ‘frills and spills'.
The drums are the keystone to ramping things back up, as we go back into the pre-chorus for one more outing before an extended chorus completes the journey on this up-beat, positive and inspiring single from ‘Truck’.
In conclusion, you’d be hard pushed not to really get into and enjoy this new single from ‘Truck’. As I’ve already mentioned, it exudes so much fun and positivity that only a real sour puss would turn their nose up at it. The band rock and the production on the song is ace.
Loved every minute of it. Awesome song gents.
Review by Jono Moulds
Watch 'Make Hay' by Truck (official music video):
Truck is:
Andy McLean – Vocals
Dave Leslie – Guitar
Mark Donaldson – Keys
Kevin Hunt – Bass
Alex Deegan – Drums
Connect with Truck:
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Ceri Davies
Presenter and Co-Director
