Royal Trux Royal Trux

I persuaded my dear friend Ruth to listen to Johnny Thunders. I am not going to try and sell her on Royal Trux, it might be a step too far. Royal Trux are an on again off again band that ran from the late ’80s until very recently consisting of Jennifer Herrema and Neil Hagerty a boyfriend/girlfriend duo who specialized in freaky Stones and Velvets influenced lowfi experi-Mental drone rock, with stripped down lyrics and a perpetual exile on main street in drag vibe. If you like Daniel Johnston and his exploits in breakdown-lofi, you probably already have listened to Royal Trux and felt corresponding admiration for their stripped don’t give a fuck junkie exploits in diamond-in-the-very-rough rocker noise. I love them. Jennifer always came on like one of my tribe, one of my own girls. I didn’t know her, but I knew her, and enjoyed the ride from a distance, vaguely pitying the more sensitive and sensible, it would appear, Neil.

Still, they are never boring, you never listen and wish they would get down and dirty, because it don’t get much durtier than this, and sometimes scraping the bottom with them and their “hey we spent all the production money on drugs” but hey you still got THIS outta us, why are you bitching” sound is one of those rare joys in life that doesn’t come with a health and safety warning. I saw ’em live once. I wasn’t disappointed, they were a shambles, Jennifer all hair and attitude carreening around the stage with Neil holding on for dear life with his skillful guitar. It takes real chops to make such just off center melodic noise.

If you haven’t listened to them, I suggest you enter at the first album, perhaps give the glorious Junkie Nurse, a shockingly tuneful acoustic number and Neil and Jennifer at their lyrical best – coming on all Jim Carroll in the Basketball Diaries meets Lou Reed circa ’72 a spin before you jump in at the deep end. People ask me, if you could have been in a ahem…successful…band, Paltry, which band would you have joined. I would never skip a beat. Royal Trux, no contest. Click…if you dare…and lemme know what you think…