Elsie Jaffe, Yvonne Chazal, Travis Harrington, and Kameron Vann are Truth Club, an indie rock band based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Their latest record, Running From the Chase, is out today on Double Double Whammy, and to celebrate, the four put together a playlist of tracks they were listening to throughout its recording last year. Check it out below.
— Annie Fell, Editor-in-chief, Talkhouse Music
Lomelda — “From Here”
There are a lot of incredible things about Lomelda’s songwriting and arrangement choices I could talk about, but the use and phrasing of less commonly used time signatures is one of my favorites. This is one of the few instances where I’ve taken direct inspiration from one song and applied it to my part in Truth Club. The way the drums are phrased in “From Here” really drew me in — I love the way that the pattern extends out over two measures, and feels so melodic in line with the main guitar riff. I was excited to try and emulate a version of that same feel in “77X,” especially considering how different the feels of the two songs are in many ways. It’s also really special to now be labelmates on DDW!
— Elise
Gouge Away — “Can’t Relate”
I’ve consistently spent a lot of time listening to Gouge Away’s Burnt Sugar for years now. This was one of the first heavier albums I really got into, and I felt especially drawn in because of the drumming. The drums feel really melodic and compositional to me, bringing a lot to the songs on this album and really tying together the other instruments and vocals. It was difficult to pick which song I wanted to feature here, but this is one where I always find myself drumming along on the steering wheel (not to say I’m NOT doing that on the rest of the album too). A lot of the music that we wrote for Running From The Chase feels heavier and more intense than our previous work, and I think listening to Gouge Away helped bring me into a more comfortable and confident space to write and play in the style that best benefitted these songs.
— Elise
Liz Phair — ”White Chocolate Space Egg”
There was a point when I was completely obsessed with Liz Phair, her songwriting, her voice, her lyrics. The sound of this song feels so extremely nostalgic to me, even though I came to Liz Phair pretty late in the game. The way she writes progressions and melodies, dipping into something that is unexpected but simultaneously beautiful, kind of reminds me of the way all of us write music too, both for this band and outside of the context of Truth Club — which I guess is probably why we like playing music together so much.
— Yvonne
SZA — “Supermodel”
I remember turning to this album for comfort while we were recording. I was super nervous about recording vocals, and I remember going outside and taking a walk and singing along to this song to push my voice to sing these intricate and wide-ranging melodies so I could, like, relax more into my voice. And also just to feel good. SZA is for sure one of the best songwriters of our generation.
— Yvonne
Spirit of the Beehive — “GIVE UP YOUR LIFE”
SOTB is probably my favorite band, and I was so blown away when Entertainment, Death came out. It’s so cool how even as their songwriting and arrangements have veered away from more “traditional” indie rock over time, they still have never lost the sense of how to place a great guitar line at the center of a song. The production flourishes here are so fun: the tape malfunction at the beginning, the mosaic of drum sounds, and the whole mix getting strangled in the end. Never has dark music sounded so playful to me.
— Travis
My Bloody Valentine — “you made me realise”
It’s hard to like big guitars and not like MBV. The vocals in this song really get me though. Kevin and Bilinda’s parts sound so precise and intricate. Whenever I sat down with Yvonne to work out harmonies for RFTC songs, this was definitely a reference point.
— Travis
Floral Print — ”egg rites”
Floral Print was the first band we played with on our first tour — boy, were we lucky. Nathan and Clover write such absurdly dynamic music and I always come back to this album for inspiration. There is an air of effortlessness in the way that they move between differences in cadence and volume that I strive to embody in my playing.
— Travis
Saturnalias — “Long Gone”
I started listening to this band right after we finished tracking RFTC because the singer/guitar, Alex, introduced himself to me at a show in Raleigh. This song hooked me; it’s such an amazing way to start an album. The tension builds for so long and then drops you from so high up.
— Travis
Computerwife — “Leave Me Be”
This song just rules. *Sunglasses on, driving with the windows down* vibes. I absolutely love songs that are super upbeat but have bummer lyrics. It just feels, like when you’re going through a bad time, and you try to do things that usually make you feel good to make yourself feel better. But the bummer is still riding along with you. This was my #2 top listened-to song of 2022. Computerwife also just put out a really good full length.
— Yvonne
Lali Puna — “6-0-3”
This album was a nonstop listen for me for nearly a year straight. Our homie Walker, the one who shot the album photo for RFTC, put this on the night after we got back from the shoot. Everyone went out to some bar and I just laid on the couch listening to this. I immediately ordered two copies on vinyl (one for a friend) and a CD for my car. This was kinda my energy for such a long time during that whole period of time of recording and completing everything around the album. It is just so strange and introspective feeling while also being uplifting and playful.
— Kam
Bleary Eyed — “Spark”
Lush strange sounds with catchy melodies and a fun bounciness. This whole album just keeps it going. These are some good homies of ours that we are always joyed to play with and see. I definitely was bumpin’ this album around the time of recording and a lot right after. All insanely talented musicians and such sweethearts.
— Kam
Wu-Lu — “South”
This song maybe goes the hardest out of any song out there. I love the combination of some seriously thrash-y ‘90s grunge feel with the sprinkle of psyche hip hop energy. This album is a go-to for me for high energy movement and pacing activity. Good album to skate to 🙂
— Kam
