OK, tell me all about Wussy

"she killed hundreds" and "my parade" are the early standouts (besides "dropping houses"). i'm seeing them tonight in the 5-piece configuration, interested in seeing how the new songs work live.

Video for "She's Killed Hundreds"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4jUTWKy35Q

New album's good but not blowing me away.

i think the production is kinda murky and not in an atmospheric way. live it was much more blistering and raucous. they covered "ceremony" too.

I'm still not sold on the whole thing--the Lebowski song is a slog--but the closing four-song stretch is fantastic. Love how they follow (imho) the album's best rocker ("Sidewalk Sale") with three rather textured ballads.

Great sound, but the songs aren't as strong as usual. Still an excellent record.

They did a nice cover of New Order's "Ceremony" for RSD:

https://soundcloud.com/damnably/wussy-ceremony-rsd-7

A track of theirs came up in my Discover Weekly this week and I am digging it. Have to admit I wondered for a bit if the female vocalist was Karen O.

Song i listened to even referenced my current screen name.

My new favorite band, based on Funeral Dress and my other other meanderings through the catalog.

Has anyone who's never read Robert Christgau ever been into Wussy?

I heard about this one guy who lives in North Dakota who fits this description. But that's it.

― clemenza, Saturday, August 30, 2014 3:55 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i'm into wussy because of chuck cleaver, and i'm into chuck cleaver because of the afghan whigs (covering the ass ponys)

not that the rest of them, particularly lisa walker, aren't awesome. anyway, christgau is not involved

― mookieproof, Saturday, August 30, 2014 4:12 AM (1 year ago)

But yeah, "Bug" is problematic. Is it named after the Dinosaur, Jr. album?

My new favorite band

me too

Finally listened to Forever Sounds, which earns its name--which, if they didn't consciously make from Forever Changes and Pet Sounds, might as well have, cos it's that kind of vibrant sonic monument, made of Grade-A Collector's Guide Catnip---but so far can't hear why xgau says it's more the sound than the songs; to me it's the sound of songs, of detail curving in through the wide windscreen strata of perspective (doesn't seem all that overdubby though, even on headphones: think they could get a lot of the same effect on stage, or recording live in the studio).
Title also related to the mythopoeic power and ambition and hope and compulsive urge in their surge, x fatalistic or morbid themes: they're off to see thee wizard, even though we're all gonna die sometyme--so: folk music, and big loud catchiness too; sounds like they still like the Who as well as Richard and Linda maybe even more compatibly than ever, and this is what we get after Attica! and Public Domain Vol. 1(harmonium and piano from the splintered parlor show up on intro of last track, even).
This pulled me in right away, which isn't absolutely necessary but always favored.
Lisa and Hungry Chuck: Mom 'n' Pop ov Dragons (Midwestern loose meat sandwich ones, of course).

"all gonna die someday" if we haven't already, with at least one song about (calling himself)a ghost(because he can be or call himself whatever he wants to) glimpsed already.

that post's a little too off the deep end for me but i think i agree with the sentiment, that there is something special about this album :)

(doesn't seem all that overdubby though, even on headphones: think they could get a lot of the same effect on stage, or recording live in the studio).

this is definitely true. it just sounds like a guitar indie rock band, just a really really good and exquisitley recorded one \o/

I also agree with this, from a p4k review: "there remains something resolutely midwestern in the delivery" which I think you are getting at with Lisa and Hungry Chuck: Mom 'n' Pop ov Dragons (Midwestern loose meat sandwich ones, of course).

dropping horses -> she's killed hundreds is the best one-two punch album opener of the year

So with this band are we supposed to assume every perceived reference to something else is really there, for instance that the fire-starting "cigarette alone" of "Beautiful" is the same one smoked on the steps by the fireworks-noticing Joe Doe in "4th of July"?

Uh, John Doe. Don't know who Joe Doe is or how he got in there.

Yes, you track down every word referred to by every word of every song. We don't, but you do. Get workin'.

Okay. I'll be back in a little bit

Digging the cover of "Ceremony."

I hate this band name so much and that they're supposed to be like actually good bugs the shit out of me

dude,

1) the name's not that bad???

2) they're siick

They write good songs.

Great name, great band. You want a bad band name, check out his previous band the Ass Ponys. They were great too.

I am enjoying a Wussy song. :(

Maybe Christgau is right.

Which one?

Don't hold Christgau against them.

It was from the new album. I think it was Gone. (Was just playing things on shuffle.) Now I'm playing the album.

Snow day here, no students; looking around for something to play, noticed the whole Buckeye compilation is on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T70rE2aB9EQ

Oops.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8feB5IhNG8

Stuck in the corn maze
With only a transistor radio

I recently tweeted:
These days I'm not likely to get hooked on "droney dream pop" w Radio Shack beats, but @muncie_girl makes it work, most of the time, on this 18-track Magic Words collection https://themagicwords.bandcamp.com/ The most unusual talent can be a bad influence: "Hey I can do that!" Probly not.

(she's been promoting it w UK shows)

those magic words tracks are so great, kind of gives lie to the Wussy creation myth though.
personally think she is the best vocalist in rock right now.

This comes out in May. I don't really get why all the prices are British--the songs look they're new, it's not a UK-only compilation.

http://wussy.bandcamp.com/album/what-heaven-is-like

"look like"

That's weird.

They have a bunch of songs I like, but the fact that the new one is inspired by the Fargo TV show is kind of lame.

They've added the American CD/Vinyl links now.

Recently heard an interview with one of the guys from this band and it became pretty clear he doesn't like leaving the house, so there you go.

I wonder if we're in for a new era of Iron Maiden-esque songs about movies and tv shows.

Tracks so far are pleasant enough. Looking forward to the album.

So I wouldn’t have asked for this Beatles cover but...

afghan whigs cover is a bold choice but sounds good!

Is this the new album you're talking about?

I was talking about title track of new EP. Is new album out?

I think the new album comes out next month.

The new one is out and it is predictably excellent. It's a continuation of the noisy sound they developed on Forever Sounds, but the songs are stronger this time around.

I miss their pop moments.

Finally caught up with the not-new-anymore LP and EP. Except for "Dropping Houses," my favourite song of last year, the last one made no impression on me whatsoever. So I think I was intentionally slow getting to Heaven.

Didn't get anything out of the first three songs, but my interest picked up when Lisa Walker came in with "Look away, look away, don't watch me" on "Tall Weeds." After that, except for the pedestrian "Oblivian," excellent. "Firefly" and "Black Hole," the two slow ones from Lisa, are great. "Aliens in Our Midst" is a shameless copy of "Brimful of Asha," and as such, it's insanely catchy. I really like "Nope," and "Skip"..."Skip" is a masterpiece. I can't think of anybody--no American band, anyway; maybe there's some Loveless in there--who's ever made music that sounds like "Skip." If I die in the next couple of years, it'll be in a fiery car crash--single-vehicle, no else involved--because I was playing "Skip" too loud and ran into a tree.

Great "Getting Better" cover on the EP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvsQO1UTSfM

I still need to give it another listen, but I liked "Aliens in Our Midst" the first time through (and I certainly like it better than "Brimful of Asha").

"Heaven" is much more engaging than "Forever Sounds". The opener, "One Per Customer" grabbed me and everything flows really well.