Biography
-
Years Active
2010 – present (15 years)
Established in New York City after a chance meeting, Truest is the latest incarnation and brain-child of co-founders Adam Weiss (lead vocals, guitar), Jason Desiderio (keyboards, guitar, percussion), and Matt Schaefer (guitar). The band took form when Weiss abandoned his biology career in Boulder in order to move to the city in pursuit of a chance to expand upon his creative skills. He soon found himself interning with an audio post-production studio where he would meet multi-instrumentalist, producer, and recording engineer Desiderio. The two quickly bonded over a shared passion for honest lyrics and organic sounds, and recruited long-time friend and fellow Buffalo native Schaefer, a classically-trained guitarist and recording engineer himself. Desiderio and Schaefer spent their youth constructing elaborate recording studios and experimenting with sounds and textures, so it came as no surprise that the trio opted against bringing in outside help for the recording and production of the album. The later addition of drum virtuoso Ian Carroll and multi-talented illustrator and drummer-turned-bassist David Saracino allowed the band to recreate live the densely-layered indie rock that can be heard in the band’s recordings.
With influences ranging from the likes of Wilco and Here We Go Magic to The Flaming Lips and Radiohead, the Brooklyn-based 5-piece create an inimitable sound, rich with pop sensibilities and cerebral experimentation. The songs that comprise the band’s debut album, the Lush LP, drift between dreamy pop melodies and chaotic atmospheres while maintaining the visceral and rhythmic propulsion of rock. Lyrically walking the line between stirring and heart-rending, front-man Adam Weiss explores the relationship between love and dependence and how both can distort logic: “I wrote The Machine after waking up, disoriented, from a day-nap. It had begun to rain as a summer thunderstorm moved over Brooklyn, and I realized I hadn’t had any human contact for two days. The song is about dependence on, and independence from, other people. The lyrics may come across as dark, but I find them comforting. Sometimes all it takes is a thunderstorm.”
The band’s first single, “Cities”, paints a picture of the challenges and hardships that befall anyone who makes the decision to move to a major metropolis. Weiss says of the song, “Cities describes the culture shock I experienced when I moved from Colorado to New York City. When you live in Boulder, there’s always time to sit in the backyard and stare at the sky. In New York, you’re bombarded with noise, lights, strangers, and infamously little personal space. My sensitivity to the foreign stimuli manifested itself physically and it felt like I was suffocating in the change, so I did what any songwriter would do.”
From taking full responsibility for both the recording and production of the album, to hand-painting tee shirts and self-constructing CDs, the ethos of DIY is at the heart of the band’s approach. Recognizing the importance of community within music, the founding members also lend their talents to the creation and running of New York’s Noise Collective, a regular networking meet-up whose aim is to bridge the gap between artists and industry. Armed with raw talent, an arsenal of well-crafted songs, and a line-up of accomplished musicians earnestly focused on their craft, Truest is perfectly poised to make their mark on a burgeoning global music community.
Artist descriptions on Last.fm are editable by everyone. Feel free to contribute!
All user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.
