Hands up everyone who has ever heard, or heard of, The Trews. Thought so. With a stupid name like that, it’s hardly surprising that people won’t bother to check them out either. Which is really a shame, because this is a very good rock band. My first encounter with this band was with a four track CD that I got with my Classic Rock magazine and I really like what I heard, so I decided to check them out properly. This is the third album by this Canadian act and just like Den Of Thieves and No Time For Later before it, this is a very good album. However, I must stress, it isn’t as good as both its predecessors. Somewhere along the road it seems like the band has stagnated a bit. In fact, at first listen, I didn’t think it was that good, but the CD needs some time to grow and when it sticks, it really sticks.
This band was never Heavy Metal or even Hard Rock, more a heavier kind of Classic Rock, but this time the sound scape is heavier. Both drums and guitars feels a lot more in your face than their previous stuff and it actually suits them well. Maybe they should go more in that direction in the future. The thing with album is that it contains a couple of fillers too many, whereas in the past, they really didn’t have any fillers at all. First track ”Misery Loves Company” is brilliant. It’s probably the heaviest song they have ever recorded but somehow stays true to their sound and the title track is also on the heavier side and a killer song. ”If You Wanna Start Again” is a great half ballad and ”I Find Someone Who Will” is catchy rocker that could have been lifted off one of their earlier albums. On the other hand there is stuff like ”You Gotta Let Me In”, a dull piece that sounds almost like a lullaby, a unnecessary song that should have been left off the album.
Still, this is a very good album and the band really has their own style and even if it’s not as great as their previous two albums, it won’t disappoint anybody who likes the band.
Jon Wilmenius (7/10)
Tracklist:
01. Misery Loves Company
02. One By One
03. People of the Deer
04. Stay With Me
05. Hope & Ruin
06. If You Wanna Start Again
07. The World I Know
08. Dreaming Man
09. I’ll Find Someone Who Will
10. Love Is The Real Thing
11. Burned
12. You Gotta Let Me In
CD & Festival reviews 
These guys are huge here in Canada. I like them a lot. They sound very “Canadian” — this is the kind of sound we like in our mainstream rock music.
Another thing I really appreciate about The Trews is that they did a song called “Highway of Heroes”. There’s a stretch of highway in the province of Ontario that is noted for caravans of military vehicles bringing home fallen soldiers. They named the section the “Highway of Heroes” and The Trews wrote a song about it and donated the funds to families of fallen veterans.
So in short these guys have sort of an emotional connection with us, that doesn’t always translate. They are very similar to the Tragically Hip in that regard, they don’t seem to catch on internationally like they do at home. At home, they’re the Beatles!
I love this band. I hold their second (?) album No Time For Later as my favourite.
I have my hand up! I like the Trews! 😉 This is a good assessment of the record, though I think it’s a bit of a grower – stay with it and you might have to up your rating!
Mike’s right, the Highway Of Heroes is a great song, great concept. But Canada’s Beatles? Hm. My vote for that mighta been Sloan…
Hehe. Well, I don’t know anybody who has ever heard of them. I guess The Trews aren’t that huge in Sweden… 😉
I had this album in my phone a long, long time and I still think 7/10 is fair. It’s a good album, but I think it’s weakest so far.