Royal Trux
Veterans Of Disorder
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Royal Trux
Veterans Of Disorder
Drag City, 1999
RiYL: Rolling Stones, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Pussy Galore |
But it has been no easy task. Throughout the years, Jennifer Herrema and Neil Hagerty have survived addiction, a Calvin Klein modeling job and a dissolved contract with Virgin Records. After all this bullshit, they still came out on top. 1998's Accelerator saw a welcome return to Drag City Records, the label on which such classics as Twin Infinitives were released.
And for 1999, Royal Trux have come out with something fierce. Veterans Of Disorder -- the name says it all. Opener "Waterpark" knocks down the door and forces itself into your head, you can't help but rock to it. From here, the album tests out any number of styles and genres, most of them with pleasing results. The slow country feel of "Stop" (in which Herrema and Hagerty croon "change partners and dance") is one of the prettiest songs the duo has ever written, and the Caribbean-tinged "The Exception" could serve as the band's definitive anthem.
As the album progresses, it wanders through psychedelia ("Sickazz Dog"), African rhythms ("Yo Se!") and ballsy classic rock ("Witch's Tit"). Hagerty's guitar playing consistently impresses, even though his catchy riffs and blistering leads are all over the place. Check out the solo on "Blue Is The Frequency" -- once the song breaks into a Zeppelin-esque groove, Hagerty takes off into avant-rock territory and never comes back. If you love rock n' roll, go buy this album. And if you don't like rock n' roll, go buy this album and listen to it until you do.
YUL B. DEAD |