Hue Blanc's Joyless Ones on Certified PR Records

Damn. Hue Blanc and his Joyless Ones have been around for just over ten years. Think about all the bands that have started and broken up, makes you think you just have to outlast all the bands that had a trendy idea or sound and put out a record or two. Those flashes in the pan are nice but only end up reminding you of a specific time and place. Those weird footnotes that came out of nowhere and immediately sound dated. Then there's Hue who isn't wide eye'd and naive anymore, after a split with Pink Reason and releases on Columbus Discount and SS Records they have just kept on doing what they want to do which is laying on a scuzzy psych with a measure of garage blues here and there.

A-Side's "Bearing On The Moor" opens on a hammond organ falling down the fretboard into a jangly psych in the fuzzy style of The Super Vacations or The Jacuzzi Boys. It's a dense ramshackle pop that has a mind of it's own, Hue on vocals has a buried reverb tough delivery sticking to the shadows to be that menacing presence. Talking to the kids about walking alone at night in his concrete garage smashing and stumbling around at night. Keeping this track laid back and spooky sounding, because the moor is no place for anyone and definitely not this time of year. Howling at the joyless ones, these guys take the scowling seriously and the hooks are part of the show.

B-Side's "Pant and Heave" has a higher thin treble guitar that opens up with a smear of distortion. Hue seems in better spirits here getting into a Replacements style rock sound, not sticking to closely to the script and getting fast and easy with this melody. A couple of drinks should do it, cymbals and solos, the drawl and hoots turning this into a private party, putting this together all in the same room no overdubs, live sounding and calling this the last take.

Pick this up from Certified PR Records on grey marble vinyl.

Bruiser Queen on Certified PR Records

Bruiser Queen is a duo from St. Louis, home to one of the first bands I ever bought a single from, Bunnygrunt. They must have been passing through NYC and played the basement of Acme, a weird southern food place in the lower east side, for some reason they had a venue under the restaurant. I must have been there with friends but loved this band immediately and bought Family Notebook at their mercy table. Ever since I've been picking up their singles here and there over the years - all from seeing them once. That's really what singles are all about for me, a random night, a couple of bucks, a band you're surprised by but even more it's about everything that surrounds that tiny record sometimes. Bruiser Queen are more than just from the same city, they happen to be super friends with the other St. Louis duo who are still releasing records twenty years later and have played shows together. Not that they sound remotely similar to the singles I've picked up, but any friend of Bunnygrunt is a friend of mine.

A-Side's "In Your Room" rips into the always huge sound of a duo and immediately reminds me of The Hussy's pounding reverb garage combined with Shannon Shaw's impressive vocals. Morgan Nusbaum has similar pipes with real bite and serious snarl at times in a lower end bellow. Completely comfortable to run this up the register and ditch the control she has and it's all recorded within range, not one piece of blown out, unrecoverable rock here. They deliver this loud but keeping within that solid bar of sound, her jangle distorted guitar and Jason on drums keeping a solid metronome beat. Morgan is her own waoooooo backup and this has something to do with the '60s jangle garage sound, especially the hot rod harmony stuff but it's so fast with punchy caveman energy that would just destroy anything else even in range. Morgan gets right up to the edge of almost losing control but it's so good it doesn't even have to be doubled to make you stand up and pay attention. Completely related to The Hussy in similar smash beat and party vocals, not in content, it's just the kind of thing that makes you happy, even if she's singing about some shitty situation.

B-Side's "Ms. Everything" has a squashed down guitar tone like that stretched reverb rubber band finally collapsed. This one gets far away from that garage prom sound and opens up into back and forth straight huge pop punk. Morgan lets go a little more in yelps at the end of her verses but still absolutely meaning business. I can't get over her crazy natural talent, like Karen O, a riveting personality in every lyric while those No Age sounding thick guitar layers plow ahead. This drops out to just a handclap and a cappella verses from Morgan as if you weren't already sure this all revolves around her.

On purple bruise colored vinyl, sold out from Certified PR, get this from the band's bandcamp page direct, deservedly not many left.

The Hussy on Certified PR Records

Honestly I can't remember going to a better live show than the few I've attended from The Hussy. Bobby and Heather, from Madison, WI are also the nicest damn people I've had the chance to talk to a hundred years ago and have watched them go from split singles to massive colored vinyl full lengths on Southpaw and Tic Tac Totally Records. I'll admit it, I'm completely biased and going to love the hell out of this one before it even hits the turntable.

A-Side's "Turn it Three" has the duo taking it down to a see saw teetering rhythm. Who knows how they keep coming up with these caveman stomp beats that can stay this fresh. There's no formula to their impressive output; as much as they are consistently driving towards this garage punchy brief track, I couldn't see them pulling a fast one and getting the London philharmonic for their next record. The punky trash sound has been there from the beginning and the story of this band is as much about plowing through every possible permutation of guitar and drums as it is about how these two remain friends for this amount of time through the incessant touring and the crazy highs and lows that come with the intensity of being that close with these huge stakes. Not only have they managed to come up with these catchy power punk tunes for years but they show no signs of letting up anytime soon. I predict every label you know and love will someday put out a Hussy release. Bobby and Heather make friends wherever they go and don't seem to ever have a drought of material. This one is a sing song number with Bobby's patented snarl that seems to end in a question. They really compliment each other in sass and like any good duo, attempting to overwhelm the audience (like the one in question on the back of this sleeve) before the smell blood. These two will blow you jaded bastards away.

The B-Side "Firelung" reminds me of Adam Widener's punk pop stuff just dripping with reverb, they can stretch those jangly electric sounds into heights of hiss. This one has Heather being the snotty protagonist like all of the ladies of Midnight Snaxxx at once, in leather jackets and switchblades, a nightmare coven from the Outsiders. Plenty of backup harmonies that remind me of why these two have to sing together, they can go full Hunx at points caramelizing sweet layers of sugar just before barfing in your mouth. So quick and you won't find either of these on anything else.

Pick it up on dark purpley vinyl from Certified PR Records, recorded and mixed by Bobby himself. Just yesterday in fact I got a single from Fire Reatarded, also out of Madsion and lo and behold it was also recorded and mixed by Bobby Hussy - a real triple threat.

Alicja Pop - Shining Apple on Certified PR Records

I just have been exploring all the offshoots of Jay Reatards career ever since it ended, including the Lost Sounds era that Alicja was a part of. Lost Sounds included a lot of electronics, and seemed to be both Jay's and Alicja's Metal Machine Music / Trans period, where you try to apply where you've been going as an artist to a completely different genre. Its exciting as an artist I'm sure, just to push those boundaries and not know what you're doing anymore. To be able to push through that period where you start to get disappointed as songs don't come as easy anymore. But that was the thing about Jay, he wasn't 19, and nothing he was about to do was a fluke...he had been playing around with all these styles and ended up where he was, and it was perfect. I couldn't wait to hear album after album. But these side projects and the Reatards are getting me to work backwards and hear what kinds of things led to Watch me Fall....Ah Fuck! Did you have to use that title!

The two of them, Alicja and Jay split guitar/vocals and synth and made real electronic-punk...I get all excited about SIDS and Black Bug and the Units, but here was this collaboration in my own backyard with the stuff I've been listening to practically and it took me this long to get there. There should be a rerelease of this....maybe Matador can put something together now.

This one sounded like it started out as a contribution to a children's album compilation and then there was a Daniel Johnston cover done for something else...and Certified PR would be damned if this never saw the light of day. It's a no brainer.

There's about 25 left!

ALICJA POP-Shining Apple 7” (Certified PR) $7.99
Everyone should already know about MS. ALICJA TROUT. She is highly regarded as one of the best songwriter/performers out there! Her previous output includes the Legendary Lost Sounds, River City, Tanlines, Mouserocket and many others. The Memphis, TN based Alicja is one of the most prolific artists of the past 10 years putting out a great record seemingly every other month. For her Certified PR Records debut, she changes things up a little. Originally intended to be children's record, this release features the amazing original, "Shining Apple," and her stunning interpretation of the Daniel Johnston classic, "Walking The Cow."