Pick Five: Wussy

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May 172018
 

In Pick Five, great artists pick five cover songs that matter to them.

wussy cover songs

Next year marks the fiftieth birthday of Robert Christgau’s “Consumer Guide” record reviews. His blurbs pioneered the idea of giving albums letter grades, and he’s graded thousands over the years. In the 2010s, though, he’s only awarded a coveted A+ four times. The recipients: A Tribe Called Quest, Laurie Anderson, Vampire Weekend, and… Wussy. As if that wasn’t high enough praise, in that Wussy review for 2014’s Attica! he dubs them “the best band in America.”

He’s not alone, either. This Ohio band, based around the duo of Chuck Cleaver (formerly of Ass Ponys) and Lisa Walker – middle and left in that top photo, respectively – has become a critics’ darling in recent years. Their new album What Heaven Is Like should only continue that trend. Billboard’s already called it “a concise 10-song meditation on hope and fear,” and it doesn’t come out until tomorrow.

Two of those ten songs are covers, the first time the band’s included any on a proper album. Not that most listeners will probably realize that they’re covers; these music superfans dig deep into the vaults, covering cult favorite folkie Kath Bloom’s “Oblivion” and 1970s garage rockers The Twinkeyz’ “Aliens in Our Midst.” Listen to the latter: Continue reading »

May 082018
 
wussy getting better

The Sunday Times said Wussy’s last record sounded like “if Michael Stipe co-wrote songs with Morrissey…then hired Neil Young, Crazy Horse and the Cowboy Junkies to play them, and asked Kevin Shields to mix them.” That’s a lot of name drops, but Wussy is the sort of band who inspires a lot of name-dropping from critics. In a rare A+ review a few years back, Robert Christgau threw Television, Sonic Youth, and Nirvana on that list.

And they’ve never been shy about embracing influences themselves (how do we know? Check our “Pick Five” series next week…). So on the eve of their new record What Heaven Is Like, they quietly dropped a new covers EP on Bandcamp. Continue reading »