Radio Video EP

Royal Trux: Neil Hagerty (vocals, guitar, violin, flute, bass); Jennifer Herrema (vocals, sound effects).
Additional personnel: Reeta Young (vocals); Dan Brown (acoustic guitar);
Chris Pyle, Ken Nasta (percussion).
Recorded live at Border's Bookstore, Chicago, Illinois.
Picking up where the second, eclectic half of Veterans of Disorder left off, the Radio Video EP blends dub, hard rock, soul, and beat poetry into stream-of-consciousness pieces that could only be conceived of -- and successfully performed by -- Royal Trux. Applying the focus of later works like Veterans and Accelerator to their early, free-range experimentalism, Radio Video kicks off with the dub metal of "The Inside Game" (also included on the High Fidelity soundtrack), which features Neil Hagerty's fierce vocals and guitars and a spacious, bottom-heavy production -- elements that unite "Mexican Comet"'s fleeting sonic blur and "Victory Chimp: Episode 3"'s rapid-fire, acoustic rambling. Best of all are "Dirty Headlines" and "On My Mind," a pair of vulgar yet dreamy songs melding guest vocalist Reeta Young's soulful, mournful singing with more tough-talking Hagerty vocals and backup sneering and sound effects from Jennifer Herrema. Paranoid, brazen, sexy, and intellectual, the Radio Video EP proves that few other bands wear their contradictions as well as Royal Trux. ~ Heather Phares