Ring of Truth

"Everything's the Same But in a Different Place" CD

Sound Archive Recordings

Genre: Brit-pop, indie pop

UK

October 2009

With an obvious appreciation for The Stone Roses and The Go-Betweens, Britain's Ring of Truth play earnest Brit-pop that charms more than it surprises. Melody is the lifeblood for music like this, and these folks keep up their end of the bargain. "(There But For The) Grace Of God (Go I)" is the band's take on the iconic two-minute pop song, and quite remarkably it sounds as if it's come straight out of the eighties - an amalgam of Go-Betweens melody, U2 guitars, and Stone Roses energy. The entirety of Everything's the Same But in a Different Place is an exercise in exuberant Brit-pop, with a clear eye for music of yore. Observe, for instance, the Byrdsy twang of "The Sweetest Heart," the Robyn Hitchcock-esque mannerisms of scorching "Here and There," or the overt Stone Roses structure on expansive "Smile." The appropriately-titled Everything's the Same perhaps steps a little too completely in its idols' footprints, but it's really hard to deride such a well-executed foray into classic British rock/pop. 

ring of truth's myspace

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 11 tracks, distributed by the label, released June 15, 2009]