Gospel Truth, The

***Austin's THE GOSPEL TRUTH have been knocking around since 2007, but it's only been in the past two years that vocalist/saxophonist/keyboard player MARK TONUCCI’s quartet have really caught fire. All-malicious-intent in a way that runs contrary to this city’s party vibe, they've emerged as one of the town’s top live bands in the process. Not only is it hard to come up with a regional precedent for The Gospel Truth, it’s almost as tough to ID an album as out of time as A Lonely Man Does Foolish Things. The Flesh Eaters’ A Minute To Pray, A Second To Die, the Toiling Midgets’ Sea Of Unrest or maybe The Black Snakes' Crawl come to mind, but that trio stuck out like sore cocks in their respective eras, too. In this case, you've got a purposeful, unusually deft ensemble fronted by a singer who comes out of his shell in the best possible way when you put a microphone in his hands. Featuring an all-star squad of Austin rockers (PATRICK TRAVIS of THE GOLDEN BOYS and SSSERPENTSSS, JEREMY STEEN of THE FLESH LIGHTS and NAZI GOLD, ex-WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH drummer BRANDON BENNETT CROWE), The Gospel Truth are on tour shortly after this album's June release.