Truse – “Tragic Comedy”

“Tragic Comedy” is my favorite track of the day. Truse grew up in Beverly Hills, hit a depression that lasted years, and came out of it with a very specific point of view: that what happens inside people, the fear they carry, is exactly what ends up playing out in wars. This song is him making that case out loud.

From the moment I discovered this release, I was excited to share it with you. The image he keeps returning to is generals sitting far from any active conflict, writing that they’re fighting for humanity and the connected idea is that every side in a war believes it has to strike first or be struck, and that belief is where the whole thing starts. It’s a grim observation, and he doesn’t dress it up.

I’ve listened to this a few times now, and the thing that gets me is how personal it still sounds despite being about something as large as geopolitical violence. You can hear that this guy actually went looking for answers at some point in his life and came back with real ones, not bumper sticker ones.

This is the kind of writing that only happens when someone has actually been through something. It’s not performed depth. Follow Truse, and go back through his earlier releases while you’re at it. Given where he’s at now, I’d be curious what the older material sounds like. Have you ever heard an artist reference something this large and still make it feel this personal?