Under-rated band: Wussy

My listening hasn't been taking me to many critically dismissed works recently, so I've decided to redefine the word "under-rated" for this post. Instead of an album rated below its worth, today I'm going to look at a band that has not been rated by enough critics at all: it's been under-rated (note the hypen). Critics who have taken the time to listen to and review Wussy's albums (specifically Franklin Soults and Robert Christgau) have generally rated them highly, but no one else seems to have heard of them at all.

Wussy's second record, Left For Dead, garnered 2 whole mentions in the 2007 Pazz and Jop Poll for a 636th place finish. And their third, eponymous album made it all the way to 109th place, with 11 mentions in 2009. I can't seem to get access to the full results to the 2005 P&J poll, but I'd be shocked if their first record, Funeral Dress, got mentioned even once on that poll. Allmusic gives their generic 3 star review to Funeral Dress and Wussy, and doesn't even bother to review Left for Dead.

Yes, I know, everyone has their pet band that know one's ever heard of, but I swear - you should really listen to Wussy.

With dueling vocalists Chuck Cheaver (whiny, little range, but somehow powerful) and Lisa Walker (beautiful, quirky, reminds me of Jenny Lewis) they call to mind Richard and Linda Thompson (a comparison I swear I hit on independently of Christgau), but the music sounds more like 90s grunge that has been freed (finally) from its angsty, teen-male origins and put to use purely for its dynamic possibilities: check out the primordially simple guitar lines and the Nirvana-like way the distorted guitars come in on "Soak it Up" (available in a crappy live version here, but seriously - download it), or "Airborne," both on Funeral Dress.
But there's a lot more to it than post- or retro-grunge. For example, there's a distinct alt-country strain in tracks like "Crooked," (check out the awesome harmonica intro), and good old-fashioned pop-rock on tracks like "Happiness Bleeds," from Wussy. Most of all, regardless of the prevailing musical style, all three albums are filled with 11-12 3 minute pop songs full of catchy hooks ("I never thought I'd drive this far without a gun"; "I wish my head had a tap/and I wish my mind had drain/so I could shunt my fears away"); crunching, intertwining guitars; and offbeat melodies. Plus they've got some of the coolest album covers around.

I'd argue that Funeral Dress and Left for Dead, in particular, are major artistic statements--far better than such critical and commerical smashes of the later 00s as (to pick a couple random examples) The White Stripes or (shudder) LCD Soundsystem. But at the very least, Wussy is a band that deserves a lot more attention.