Royal Trux : Classic or Dud ?

And related to that:

Is this due to digital intransigence on the part of Drag City or something?

Unlikely -- they've been putting up a lot of material last I checked -- but again, I could just as easily see them negotiating a better deal in general.

i wonder if drag city had to approve the digital distribution of the back catalog aspect?

This is overall great news, though it's slightly disappointing that "Sweet Sixteen" is not one of the albums being reissued.

Wait, whaaaat? That's stupid. I mean, I understand that it's probably logistically more difficult, but still stupid. Especially considering that Sweet Sixteen is the album is the one I'd most like to own in a form that had no packaging.

I always figured that people's problems with the cover art were due to the smallness of the cd format. I'll need to see it blown up to 12"x12" to really appreciate it.

We need a special edition package which features a note-perfect three-dimensional sculpture of the cover art which you have to reach into in order to retrieve the fetid, dripping disc.

Trux of the past is not Trux of the now- which in similar yet completely different terms- Trux of the past IS Trux of the now.

Uhh

They have no affinity for any one label. They're master negotiators and they're gonna either A: Swindle some big bux or B: Do whatever gives them the exact freedoms they desire. I wonder how much they kept of their old studio. I wonder how much of the new record will be completely new material or old stuff they never got to? Brian seems to be turning Neil on to the crazed Midi guitar shit he's been doing in Black Bananas. Also is it true Jen is bfgf with Kurt Midness? If Midness is in the mix too like, this could be some huge crash of Black Bananas + Royal Trux. This could be yuge or a big trainwreck. Here's to hoping they stick this out.

Trux died 15 years ago (iirc) when Jen's father passed away and she nosedived back into drugs. Neil couldn't take it. It was a premature death solely due to some lifeshit happening. Not even band related. They were meant to stay together. No disrespect to what they accomplished on their own. Hex is a pet project of absurdities and hidden genius. Bananas is sick af and should have been the biggest band of the 80s. I guess since Pound For Pound was mostly a retread of used ideas it's probably best how things went. Now they can come back with new inspirations and less fux to give.

Hype

Email just now -- the last paragraph is of particular interest:

Royal Trux (Neil Hagerty/Jennifer Herrema) are making their entire cumulative catalog (40 lps including Royal Trux, NMH, RTX, Howling Hex, and Black Bananas) available via their new home at Fat Possum. The releases will be made available to the public via streaming for the first time and the scheduled roll out has the first 3 chosen albums arriving on all streaming outlets including Spotify, TIDAL, Amazon, Google Play and Deezer this Friday, March 9th.

1993's Cats and Dogs, 1998’s Accelerator and 1999’s Veterans of Disorder

are the first 3 albums the duo have chosen to roll out. Since picking up where they left off, Jennifer Herrema and Neil Hagerty have gone back to work on their first studio LP in nearly 18 years. The band will self-produce, but will include an impressive roster of unexpected co-producers and collaborators on the new record's rumored 15 new tracks.

Stay tuned for the announcement coming via Instagram launching Royal Trux TV which will unleash a vault of previously unseen films, videos and live footage as well as the band's long out-of-print scripted films What Is Royal Trux? and Live At Gettysburg along with newly created content for the forthcoming new record created by Herrema and Hagerty.

oh nice, i don't really know the nmh/howling hex stuff that well so it'll be nice to be able to browse it

search the 1st one under the name "NMH & The Howling HEx", with the killer live version of "Rockslide"

i still maintain that "transmaniacon" by rtx is an unheralded classic

40 LPs???

I was wondering that myself

Given all the sideprojects? Sure.

lol I already counted and only got 29 - maybe if they are including singles, or there are live recordings or something

yeah thinking about it, neil's been pretty prolific post-trux

oh I forgot the albums under just the HH name, yeah looks about right!

ran into my 1st guitar teacher pic.twitter.com/iHDAHer0nd

— Neil Hagerty (@TheHowlingHex) June 18, 2018

Saw that last nite... I checked his feed at a good time ;)

Royal Trux (Neil Hagerty/Jennifer Herrema) are making their entire cumulative catalog (40 lps including Royal Trux, NMH, RTX, Howling Hex, and Black Bananas) available via their new home at Fat Possum. The releases will be made available to the public via streaming for the first time and the scheduled roll out has the first 3 chosen albums arriving on all streaming outlets including Spotify, TIDAL, Amazon, Google Play and Deezer this Friday, March 9th.

Wow - I missed the fact that all the NMH/Hex stuff is also coming to Fat Possum / digital.

nu Trux, on first listen pretty damn cool

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbtt5jEjjkg

Awesome, I’ve been waiting for this

Kool Keith on the other new track!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJTDvozyrko

a lot going on with that one, will need a few listens I think

my dream team-up circa 1997 has now come to pass

Yessssssss

Definitely not feeling the Judgment Night vibes of that Kool Keith track but it's definitely consistent with the wtfness of Royal Trux

Other song is cool. More RTX than Howling Hex, to my ears. Is there a release date for this yet?

Yeah, these traxx sound like Jennifer had a few ideas, and Neil said — “Ok”

Will there be an album?

Yeah - https://www.stereogum.com/1981691/royal-trux-reissuing-catalog-recording-new-album-for-fat-possum/news/

Great
Thanks

These songs have grown on me a bit... They have a “Trux-by-numbers” element to them, I’m not gonna lie; but they do hit that groove.

(I feel like this band is the grown-up version of the kids in “High Fidelity” whose demo tape was the Radio Video EP, lol)

hmm

so as far as i can tell the new royal trux is jennifer, her husband, alexis from hot chip, andy from white magic???? kool keith just a guests on that 1 track

— Neil Hagerty (@TheHowlingHex) November 5, 2018

Nice catch... Right when I'm about to buy tix too.

is neil saying he's not in RT or is neil saying kool keith is not in rt don't get it twisted?

I'm inferring the former based on his 2 follow ups:

updates as they occur

— Neil Hagerty (@TheHowlingHex) November 5, 2018

what a wrong, strange trip it has been

— Neil Hagerty (@TheHowlingHex) November 6, 2018

wtf

my guess is that neil handed over the completion of the new record to jennifer and isn't too psyched about the results?

Wut

If this is what it sounds like, wouldn't it be better for all involved if they just rebranded it as a Black Bananas album?

Didn't he make some cryptic comment about being fired or being an "unemployed" guitar player right around the time they were posting photos of recording?

But yeah I think...wut is correct statement regarding this whole sitch

I think the run from Cats & Dogs - Thank You is faultless, but tbh did not enjoy the live album and am not excited about a new Trux album, and don't think much of the new trax

it isn't really clear that any of those tweets are related to each other, they're all several hours apart

but just that one tweet raises questions about nmh's involvement in new royal trux yeah

I think the run from Cats & Dogs - Thank You is faultless,

Is this meant to be shade? Lol

ha, not meant as shade - I'm including the dogs of love ep there too!

I mean, I'd expand the range a bit myself, but on its face that is a true statement.

The one with the toilet on the cover def has its moments, as do the albums and EPs before the split, but those three records are just sublime to me.

WTF is Hot Chip even doing in this equation ?!?

Yeah, that def gave me pause.

imagine getting fired from being yourself?

— Neil Hagerty (@TheHowlingHex) November 27, 2018