Platinum Tips + Ice Cream (scenes from the water park) is the new LP from Royal Trux and is culled from recent live and unrehearsed performances in California and New York. Recently re-formed after a lengthy (probably due!) break, Royal Trux return with a collection of songs that arguably sum up the ‘live’ experience of this band perfectly.
Opener Junkie Nurse has a trademark scuzzy insistent riff that bumps and grinds with the refrain of “love you forever more”.
Sewers Of Mars has a Lynyrd Skynyrd like riff which manages to be both bluesy and boozy. It’s heavy as shit and with the unmistakable dual vocals of Jennnifer Herrema and Neil Hagerty, they sound like they will fall apart at any second. I love that.
Red Tiger has Herrema groaning suggestively into the mic accompanied by a simple sludgy guitar and cymbal. Hagerty joins in with more guitar layered on top. It’s slow and dirty with psychedelic moments as well as otherworldly trademark reverb and echo heavy vocals of the two. Filthy stuff
Sometimes is grungy and sludgy with some great guitar noodling and the same goes for the throbbing blues of Mercury
Fan favourite Deafer Than Blind has Herrema again groaning into the mic. The shared vocals work so brilliantly both live and on record. Again it sounds disjointed and could fall apart at any moment, but i personally don’t think they have ever sounded so ‘together’. Just great distorted guitar.
The incendiary riff of Waterpark raises the bluesy tempo with Herrema’s vocals sounding like finger nails going down a blackboard (remember them kids?) It’s again chaotic, sleazy and just wonderful stuff.
The gorgeous noisy chaos and surrealness of The Banana Question leads onto the free form bluesy jazz improve of Blue Is the Frequency and the psychedelic long form freak-out of album closer ‘Ice Cream’.
Having seen Royal Trux first hand on their last tour before splitting up, you could tell that this was a band (or at least Herrema and Hagerty!) that needed a break from each other. But with this live document, it is a reminder of why it is so great that they are back and still killing it. They sound just as good as they ever have and this live LP of Royal Trux is a must for fans to reminisce and to look forward to their next Royal Trux live experience, and for newbies to experience this once in a lifetime band for the first time. Essential stuff.
Platinum Tips + Ice Cream is available on heavyweight LP (WIGLP404), CD (WIGCD404) and digitally (WIG404D).
