The third long-player by ex- Ass Pony Chuck Cleaver and collaborator Lisa Walker proves to be the duo’s most tenacious effort yet, further reason why Wussy seems such an incongruous handle. Now firmly entrenched in their new guise, Cleaver and company have developed a hard-rocking mantra that leaves little room for subtlety or circumspect but plenty of potential for hard rocking rhythms that pack plenty of wallop. That’s not to say they lack in intrigue; with lyrics like “We met on the catapault/When they threw us to the dogs, you were at my throat” (“Gone Missing”) and “I remember puking down the side of the car, the cost of drinking liquor from the mouth of a jar” (“Happiness Bleeds”), the quartet seem more than willing to channel their inner miscreant via a rousing and unruly subterfuge. While “Little Paper Birds” starts the proceedings with a slow trudge, songs such as “All the Bugs Are Growing,” “Maglite” and “Death By Misadventure” take full flight and offer little respite. Oftentimes they dip into pure cacophony, giving “Muscle Cars” and “This Will Not End Well” a raucousness and racket that seems to bear out their aggressive titles. Wussy may indeed mark a turning point in the trajectory of this Ohio-based foursome, but the insurgent stance clearly suits them well.
--Lee Zimmerman [April 27, 2009]
