The True Faith – They Can Always Hurt You More LP (Maroon Vinyl)

Fresh on the heels of their Leucovorin Rescue b/w What Is Owed 7”, True Faith emerges with their debut full-length album, They Can Always Hurt You More — a bleak introspective view into the dehumanizing experience of medical trainees. Entering the last year of their medical education, the members of True Faith serve up this album as a reflection of the trials and tribulations of the past year.

“While this album is a testament to our own personal experiences with mistreatment and abuse in the medical system, I think it really speaks to a greater theme of labor exploitation across all disciplines,” says Benson. From the echoing chorus of “haven’t you had enough” in Gestalt to the sobering resignation of idealism of The Passion, these songs are direct reflections of a system that eats its own.

Sonically, They Can Always Hurt You More builds upon the guitar-oriented sound True Faith explored in the Leucovorin Rescue 7”. Enlisting the help of Francisco Ilabaca on synthesizer and Tom Weir (of Old Moon) on drums, the band continues to hone a sound that employs elements post-punk, coldwave, and shoegaze reminiscent of The Chameleons and The Sound.

Another notch on the belt of the emerging post-punk label à La Carte Records, They Can Always Hurt You More serves as a high watermark for True Faith and is a harbinger of things to come for the group.

Produced by Dereck Blackburn and True Faith
Recorded by Dereck Blackburn at the Record Co and Quiethouse Recording between 3/20/21 and 5/29/21
Mixed and mastered by Dereck Blackburn at Quiethouse
Lacquers cut by Levi Seitz at Black Belt Mastering
Vinyl pressed by Palomino Records
Album art by Coward’s Way