Trueblood, a band consisting of four teenage brothers, wants audiences to see them as more than their viral TikTok covers. With “First Impressions,” the band’s debut EP, members Cameron, Dylan, Mason, and Ethan combine their collective admiration for 2000s pop rock with their DIY boy-band aesthetics for what is five guitar-heavy and nostalgia-fueled songs. The opening track and second single, “Paint a Picture,” sets the tone for the project with its infectious guitar riffs and catchy chorus — not to mention its longing lyricism, a recurring theme throughout the record. Other songs like “Make It Out” and “Matter of Time” follow suit while diving into softer territories instrumentally, flexing smoother, more pop-centric elements without compromising their signature garage-rock instrumentation, while “It All Depends” and the outro, “Come Back I Miss You (Soundtrack),” feature guitar solos in place of a bridge. “It almost feels like a culmination of so much of the music we’ve listened to over the years,” said Dylan, the band’s guitarist. The brothers named Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, and Radiohead as some of their many influences, mentioning that while they all have their own individual tastes, they tend to share similar ideas in their songwriting process. “It’s rare that we do disagree, especially when it comes to our songwriting, ‘cause we grew up on the same stuff, we learned how to play with each other for so many years,” said Cameron, the drummer. “As a band and as a family, it’s learning to balance that sort of thing and remember that they’re both important, but we’re family first,” added Mason, the lead vocalist.
Trueblood is the definition of a family band, not only in it being made up of siblings who perform together, but also in the involvement of their parents, who contribute in shooting their music videos and creating other promotional content. Compromise is just something that comes naturally to the Truebloods, admitting that if they don’t all agree on something, it usually doesn’t see the light of day. “There have been moments with songs and with videos where three of us can be completely on board, but one of us is like ‘nah, I don’t really like this.’ And then it doesn’t go out,” said Dylan. At the end of the day, the brothers all want the same thing; they’re on the same team. With “First Impressions,” Trueblood is just getting started, reintroducing themselves to the world as what they envision will be a staple in alternative rock for years to come.
- Alex Lavinson
