Truth Be Told is very much business as usual for Shed Seven. The turbulence of recent years hasn't gone unnoticed, though; they were dropped by their record label after 1999's best of compilation, Going for Gold and they lost writer/guitarist Paul Banks. While "Cry for Help" and "Never Felt So Cold" fit the mould of their enduring classics, "Going for Gold" and "Chasing Rainbows", there's a hard-bitten attitude to their stride. But the real bite's in Rick Witter's bitter and twisted lyrics: the caustic "If you don't like it you know what you can do" sentiments of soaring anthem "If the Music Don't Move Yer" are no doubt aimed squarely in the direction of one ex-guitarist and their former label. It's the same old, same old, but this time with conviction. It seems a little strife has done them the world of good. --Dan Gennoe