Royal Trux is back, playing shows with a new album supposedly in the works. While we wait to see if that promise holds, Platinum Tips + Ice Cream offers a documentation of the band’s initial reunion shows last year. For better or for worse—we’re guessing Matador has given up on getting its advance back?—the reconvening of Jennifer Herrema and Neil Hagerty sounds as raw and raucous, howling and horrified, pained and pixie-like as when they first burst on the scene as a drug-addled mess in the late ’80s. At these gigs, Hagerty and Herrema sounded as expected: like their guitar and vocal contributions were red-lining and bordering on out of control. But the rhythm section kept the sleazy blues and gutter grunge on track and moving forward with bass locked into a pocket provided by some seriously pounding battery while still allowing for a loose feel that gives you the sense you’re peeking in on a cathartic discharge of energy.
—Kevin Stewart-Panko
