Royal Trux

Thank You (Virgin)
by Joshua Brown

This is the second monstrous album put out recently by a band with an ex-member of NY’s Pussy Galore, the other being Orange by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The ex-member this time is guitarist/singer Neil Hagerty, whose voice accompanies lead singer Jennifer Herrema’s sandpaper vocals. In a similar fashion to the ‘Explosion, Royal Trux combines heavy blues with the best of ’70s punk rock American style. Although there’s plenty of Rolling Stones and even Paul Revere and the Raiders in there, the listener will be happy to discover that Thank You is not even remotely what one would call “retro.” Au contraire. Royal Trux take the essential influences from rock ‘n’ roll’s past and use each as a thread with which to weave a beautiful/ugly tapestry with all the artistry of pre-Goo Sonic Youth and as much soul as a Southern Baptist church choir. To further add to their chemistry, they chose jazz record producer David Briggs to do the album.

Thank You begins with a bouncy pace on “A Night to Remember,” then gets really moody and grumpy on “The Sewers of Mars.” These set the stage for the anthemic “Ray O Vac,” which rocks you slowly in the best tradition of New York street-level rock ‘n’ roll. “Granny Grunt” has a Runaways feel to it with the adolescent garage band urgency that is untainted by the musical complexity/ambiguity of R.T. “(Have you met) Horror James” has the makings of an instant classic. It’s just pure cool, that’s all I can say. There are ten tracks in all and each is a keeper in its own way.

In closing, the new album is a wondrous evolution from the earlier Trux material. While they were always a band worthy of respect, old Royal Trux, despite their intensity just were not enjoyable to listen to. Even the band admits to this. On their major label debut, they’ve been able to mature leaps and bounds without losing their edge or identity. This should be an inspiration for younger bands who are still working on their sound.