Sex, Trucks and rock ’n’ roll

Trucks vocalist/keyboardist Kristin Allen-Zito has a sweet-natured way about her. Even on the phone with a complete stranger she’s quite comfortable talking about the trials and tribulations of a woman in her mid-20s. But it’s not surprising, considering the lyrics to most of her band’s songs read like the unauthorized transcripts from a late-night slumber party.

“If I had a boyfriend who wrote some of the songs I write, I would want to crawl under a rock,” she says with a laugh.

The Trucks aren’t out to bruise egos, though. While their self-titled debut sounds like four women who OD’d on truth serum, it’s a far more fun and light-hearted affair, as tales of crushes, bike rides and healthy libidos are harmonized over a blanket of sunny synth, xylophone and sparse guitars. But the band has managed to strike a balance between melodic hooks and Pacific Northwest punk rock, topping its near-perfect pop songs with a healthy dollop of brattiness.

It’s been a bit of a journey for The Trucks. The band formed in Bellingham, Wash., in 2003 when Marissa Moore, equipped with a toy xylophone, met up with bassist Faith Reichel and Allen-Zito, who had an old Casio keyboard. The trio later brought in drummer Lindy McIntyre and began touring the Northwest. They became known in Seattle’s music scene for their sexual frankness and over-the-top stage presence.

In fact, the 20-something cuties have been know to intimidate the male members of their audiences. But Allen-Zito insists The Trucks aren’t agro-feminists—their songs are for everybody.

“We try not to think about our audience too much,” Allen-Zito said. “What’s important in our band is to be really honest.”

And everything is fair game—relationships, crushes, sex, insecurity—as The Trucks’ latest record has all the makings of a chick-flick that’s been slapped with an R rating.

The first single, “Titties,” with its Peaches-inspired techno pulse and lyrics heavy on shock value ("What makes you think we can fuck just because you put your tongue in my mouth and you twisted my titties, baby?")

But it’s not all skin, all the time. The Trucks balance things out for the Disney set with light-hearted songs like “Big Afros,” in which Allen-Zito sings over a distorted guitar riff: “My two favorite things in life / are big Afros and riding bikes with you.”

It’s unabashed fun. And it carries into the live setting. The Trucks’ style alone might be enough to catch people’s attention—sort of a cross between ‘80s wedge haircuts and leg-warmers and post-apocalyptic Mad Max boots and leather. Allen-Zito has recently schemed up a flapper dress with tampons glued to it that, when water is sprayed on said feminine products, well …

She confesses (OK, not really a confession) to her proclivity for artists from “the me decade” like Michael Jackson and New Kids on the Block, which obviously influences the music and the fashion, as well as artists like PJ Harvey and Smashing Pumpkins—perhaps one a little more than the other.

“Between you and me, I want to be PJ Harvey.”

You’d think with their happy-go-lucky attitudes, the members of The Trucks would be living out some sort of lunatic life on the road. They are currently on a seven-month tour, including a date at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, sharing the stage with Seattle’s sonic noise-makers Kinski.

But Allen-Zito says the members keep things pretty healthy, leaving the debauchery for the stage, and not staying up past their bedtimes. Although, thankfully, she assures that The Trucks aren’t completely innocent on the road.

“I don’t think the single members would turn down a make-out.”