Album Review: The Motion Sick – The Truth Will Catch You, Just Wait
“Jean-Paul,” the opening track on The Truth Will Catch You, Just Wait… would have fit nicely on the Children of Nuggets compilation, alongside such artists as The Hoodoo Gurus and The Fleshtones. The minor-key ringing chords and eerie organ strike the right balance between nostalgia-once-removed and plain old rocking out. But five and a half minutes is overkill for a song that really has only one good idea. Wisely, The Motion Sick keeps all remaining tracks under five minutes each.
“30 Lives” begs the musical question: will the real Motion Sick please stand up? The song is an exercise in faux retro-rock of the Grease variety. Not bad, but not compellingly original, either.
It’s easy to play the spot-the-influence all the way through the disc. The countrified “Walk on Water” sounds like the Old 97s. So when the ballad “Losing Altitude” comes along, it’s welcome. The drumming on the track is extremely effective: it’s a slow-gallop through the verses, and pleasantly varied on the middle eight.
“The Owls Are Not What They Seem” and “Some Loney Day” return to the territory covered on “Jean-Paul,” with menacing chord structures, clever start-stops, effective synthesizer lines and thickly distorted lead guitar. These suggest a logical future direction for the group.
The album effectively wraps up with a cover of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” If The Motion Sick’s fixation on early 80s new wave wasn’t obvious by now, the inclusion of this track makes it crystal clear. A pointless, tacked-on remix of “30 Lives” adds little.
About the Author
Bill Kopp
With a background in marketing and advertising, Bill Kopp got his professional start writing for Trouser Press. After a stint as Editor-in-chief for a national music magazine, Bill launched Musoscribe in 2009, and has published new content every business day since then (and every single day since 2018). The 4500-plus interviews, essays, and reviews on Musoscribe reflect Bill's keen interest in American musical forms, most notably rock, jazz, and soul. His work features a special emphasis on reissues and vinyl. Bill's work also appears in many other outlets both online and in print. He regularly hosts lecture/discussions on artists and albums of historical importance (including monthly events Music to Your Ears and Music Movie Mondays), and is a frequent guest on music-focused radio programs and podcasts. In Spring 2023 he taught a history of Rock 'n' Roll at UNC Asheville's College for Seniors. He also researches and authors liner notes for album reissues -- more than 30 to date -- and co-produced a reissue of jazz legend Julian "Cannonball" Adderley's final album. His first book, Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to The Dark Side of the Moon was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2018, and in paperback in 2019. His second book, Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave, was published in 2021 by HoZac Books. His third book, What's the Big Idea: Great Concept Albums will be published in 2024. Read even more about him here.