WUSSY PLAY THE BOWERY BALLROOM

Wussy and The Paranoid Style brought insightful musings and laid-back music to Bowery Ballroom Sunday night. The Paranoid Style, named after Dick Hofstadter’s 1964 Harper’s Magazine essay “The Paranoid Style in American Politics,” opened. After joking that they were there to “make America great again” they played a mix of old tracks and songs off their forthcoming album.

Paranoid Style

The Paranoid Style is known for its political prose and satire and their rock-crit style. After each song the band would present the audience with comedic anecdotes about the track and our impending political doom. But what do you expect from a band whose songs include lines like “I used to count on labor, now I have to work” and “You call it murder like that’s some kind of crime?” The group’s new album, Rolling Disclosure, is out on July 15^th.

Paranoid Style

Wussy’s return to New York signaled a shift in its showcase. Though loved and respected by fans and critics alike, turnout was never the Cincinnati five-piece’s strength. Sunday was different. Wussy performed songs off of its sixth full-length album, Forever Sounds, which is a haunting mix of indie rock and psychedelic sounds with a tinge of electric. Witnessing the bounce between Lisa Walker’s whimsical voice and Chuck Cleaver’s somber whisper was like watching two rival story tellers trying to top the other’s observations on lovers and religion. The music was a healthy mix of head trips, drone rock and pop culture references (namely The Big Lebowski and The Wizard of Oz). Wussy is on tour through the end of September.