Tell Me, Are We Having Fun?

The Howling Hex “Pair Back Up Mass With” – This Howling Hex album would seem to prove my hunch that Neil Hagerty is at his best when he has a female foil. Weird War and his solo albums were alright, but his music goes down much easier when his incredible dudeness is diluted by some femininity. This new woman on vocals (I can’t seem to find her name anywhere) is a far cry from Hagerty’s guttural Royal Trux partner, Jennifer Herrema – she’s considerably more femme, and often sings with a slight drawl that compliments his space-boogie guitar playing rather well. At times, her diction seems odd and forced, as though she’s singing the words off of cue cards. It sounds rather like some disembodied country singer performing song-poems from the great beyond. (Click here to buy it from Drag City.)

Bertine Zetlitz “Fake Your Beauty” – Two not-so-shocking facts about this song: 1) It’s from Norway and 2) it’s from an album called Rollerskating. (Possibly the most appropriately titled album of the year thus far.) If you’re allergic to Europop or early 80s disco, please avoid. Otherwise, this is a very good time. (Click here to visit the official Bertine Zetlitz website.)

Elsewhere: Sean Michaels has returned as the regular writer of Said The Gramophone.