Bruiser Queen
"Instead of a bit of lyric, most often what came to me first when writing this material was the melody," confesses singer/guitarist Morgan Nusbaum of her St. Louis-based reverb-drenched garage pop duo, Bruiser Queen's new album, Sweet Static. What's clear here, in the band's sophomore presentation - and their first… Read moreShow less
"Instead of a bit of lyric, most often what came to me first when writing this material was the melody," confesses singer/guitarist Morgan Nusbaum of her St. Louis-based reverb-drenched garage pop duo, Bruiser Queen's new album, Sweet Static. What's clear here, in the band's sophomore presentation - and their first since recently signing to Boxing Clever Records - is her masterful dedication to melody and structure. Dreamy album opener, "Tiny Heart Attack," charms listeners with the band's signature trademark: Nusbaum's potent Corin Tucker meets 60's girl group top-of-the-lung howl; but the band's true ace is her dynamic guitar style. "One of the challenges unique to being a guitar/drums duo is filling out the spectrum of sound normally covered by several instruments on stage," she says. No such limits existed in the studio, where she crafted twinkling guitars and harmonies to depths of overdriven layers of bass, organ, and piano. "Working with Harry in his Memphis recording studio was such an incredible experience, where every instrument was within arm's reach." While 2012's debut Swears set forth Bruiser Queen's bold mission statement with bouncy 3-minute sing-along anthems for the Nation of Oohs and Whoa-Ohs, Sweet Static asserts that rules were meant to be broken - or at least bent. That's not to say Nusbaum, along with drummer Jason Potter, have thrown out the reverbial baby with the murky Mississippi River bathwater - they haven't. It's clear with tracks like "On The Radio," "Invisible Girl," and "Save Me" that the band's still just as sweet, but it's lush mid-tempo haunting entries like "Girls Like Me" and "Some Girl's Ghost" that demonstrate their dealings with static. Bruiser Queen is the collaborative effort of singer/guitarist, Morgan Nusbaum, and drummer Jason Potter. Formed in 2010, the garage rock and roll duo began winning over the Midwest in 2012 with the release of their first full-length album titled Swears, which preceded the highly praised In Your Room 7"/EP in 2013 via Certified PR Records. The title track, "In Your Room," was named "Best Local Single of the Past 12 Months" by the Riverfront Times and was a winner on the 2013 Village Voice Pazz and Jop Singles Chart. In the span of four years, Bruiser Queen has been voted "Best Garage Band" according to the RFT Music Awards 2014 Readers Poll, ranked at #36 on the KDHX Top Album Spins of 2012 Chart, and has filled supporting slots for artists including Best Coast, Wanda Jackson, Polyphonic Spree, Ex Hex, Corin Tucker Band, and Those Darlins. They have also featured in music festivals including Middle of the Map, Valley of the Vapors, Mile of Music, and True/False.