I guess the most remarkable thing about this album is that it sounds like a Royal Trux album. Since there hasn't been anything new from the Jennifer Herrema/Neil Hagerty partnership in almost two decades, the simple fact that this album exists is astonishing.

Royal Trux White Stuff (Fat Possum)

What's even more amazing is how these songs pick up where RT left off with 2000's Pound for Pound. Discordant riffage, precise-yet-disorienting production and head-scratching arrangements. Yep, the gang's all here. And the simple joy of hearing two people who love playing rock and roll, whatever the fuck that might mean.

No one makes music like this anymore, and not many made it back when Royal Trux was a somewhat more consistently going concern. For those who are too young to remember, Royal Trux sounds a lot like Captain Beefheart after Keith Richards has gotten done with the songs--and then run through a Bongwater filter. Oh wait, I was trying to explain this to the kids. My bad.

Lots of anarchy, some brilliant riffage (Hagerty has always had a knack for impossibly catchy guitar work, and he thoughtfully deconstructs it just as quickly) and delightfully rambling songs that go everywhere and nowhere. So, yeah. Great stuff.

Herrema and Hagerty are just as opaque in their press work for this album (there's something of shtick where they break up in each interview), and they did, in fact, postpone their tour. Perhaps they never hit the road. Perhaps they never record again. The best thing about Royal Trux is that the future is fluid. The only thing that seems certain is mind-bending rock and roll that never has to say it's sorry. God damn, I wish this sucked. It's just not fair how awesome this is.

Jon Worley