Texas Platters

The True Believers

Something about having a 25-year vacation really agreed with the True Believers. Apparently, it takes having celebrated musical careers away from the triple-guitar Austin onslaught to acquire the necessary seasoning to finally bottle their live power on disc. It also helps not recording since the mid-Eighties, the intervening decades hardly remembered for their raw rock & roll. Now, here's the Troobs – loud, direct, and with little fuss from South Austin's revived Arlyn Studios. Jon Dee Graham's title track, sung by de facto band leader Alejandro Escovedo, unfurls a Mott the Hoople-style narrative of the band, tales plucked from touring combustive guitar fury in Eighties punk rock clubs. Javier Escovedo's raucous "Gypsy Son" is just the Southwestern Johnny Thunders anthem we need from him, while three recent KUTX live takes on hits like "Hard Road" round out what's hopefully the tip of the proverbial iceberg from this thrilling reunion.