Hunx (aka Seth Bogart) isn't through surprising and thrilling us quite yet. From his dark roots in queer electro act Gravy Train!!!! to his solo work (Hairdresser Blues is a queer pop must) to his mind-blowing turn as the front man of gay garage band Hunx & His Punx, he has lots of tricks up his leather jacket sleeve. Cranking up the loudness and mood he set on Hunx & His Punx's lo-fi 2011 debut Too Young To Be in Love, Hunx goes straight for your eardrums on the aptly titled Street Punk (Hardly Art). Reduced to a trio from a quintet, what Hunx & His Punx lack in numbers they make up for in sheer volume and aggression. Hunx shares visceral vocal duties with bass player Shannon Shaw, and over the course of a dozen songs that penetrate the listener like the needle of a tattoo gun, they run through a slew of emotions. From the (ga)rage of "Everyone's a Pussy," "Don't Call Me Fabulous" and "Kill Elaine" to lighter fare such as "Born Blonde" and sophisticated cuts including "Mud in Your Eyes" and "You Think You're Tough," Street Punk earns its street cred.
Michael Stipe of R.E.M., along with Fred Schneider and the late Ricky Wilson of the B-52's, weren't the only gay boys in American bands in the heyday of college and alternative rock. Richard Barone of New Jersey's college rock pioneers The Bongos and Michael Quercio of L.A.'s paisley underground forebears The Three O'Clock made their presence felt as well. Both Barone's and Quercio's bands recently reunited for special shows and have released new discs.
The Bongos' unreleased late 1980s album Phantom Train (Jem) is finally seeing the light of day some 25 years after it was recorded. To the band's credit, the disc is full of timeless tunes, including "I Belong to Me," which first appeared on Barone's acclaimed live solo debut Cool Blue Halo, the rhythmic "One Bold Stroke" and a cover of Donovan's "Sunshine Superman." The Hidden World Revealed (Omnivore) by The Three O'Clock is a 20-track compilation featuring 10 of the band's classic tunes, a number of which are drawn from their acclaimed debut album Sixteen Tambourines. The remainder consists of previously unreleased alternate and demo versions, including the luminous "When Lightning Starts."
In 1984, a pair of well-received independently released EPs by Tommy Keene helped to establish the out singer/songwriter as a strong player in the college rock realm. In the years that followed, Keene released a series of albums on major and highly regarded indie record labels. His new album Excitement at Your Feet (Second Motion) is a reverent set of cover tunes written by an assortment of artists. Keene succeeds in making the songs, including Echo & The Bunnymen's "The Puppet," Mink DeVille's "Let Me Dream If I Want To," "Catch the Wind" by Donovan (is there a pattern here?), Television's "Guiding Light," Big Star's "Nighttime" and Roxy Music's "Out of the Blue," his own.
From the sound of it, Susan Werner hasn't taken off the cowboy boots she slipped on for her 2011 album Kicking the Beehive . The twang is still intact on her latest, the aptly titled Hayseed (Sleeve Dog/Thirty Tigers). Werner, who has a gift for finding a balance between the humorous and the serious, continues to do so on this album. Hayseed , with its farmer theme, opens with the sly wink of "City Kids" and then turns more serious on "Snowmobiles." Werner brings a smile to our lips on "Herbicides," "Iowa" and "Egg Money," while songs such as "While You Wait For the Rain" and "Plant the Stars" are good examples of her somber side.
Like Werner, lesbian singer/songwriter Jamie Anderson knows the value of humor and appreciates the impact of the dramatic. "Run," from Anderson's latest disc Dare (Tsunami), a song about discouraging a friend from getting involved with the wrong woman ("Listen to us now,/you've got to let her go./Yeah, she's great in bed,/don't ask how we know") featuring a petition "signed by everyone" is one of the funniest songs she's ever written. Humor abounds on "Yoga Teacher" and "Menopause Mambo." But don't let the laughs fool you, Anderson knows how to move us, too, on "Mamaw's Roses," "The Boy Wanted To Fly" and "Hold Me."