Neil Michael Hagerty

Late in 1999, Lawrence’s Filthy Jim was playing the Replay Lounge, allegedly opening for Royal Trux. Problem was, the night’s big draw had yet to show up more than an hour after it was scheduled to play. “Where the hell is Royal Trux?” asked drummer Murphy Apollo, noting that his band was starting to run out of material. If that question were asked now, the answer would be “on indefinite hiatus.” In the meantime, here’s the self-titled solo debut from Neil Michael Hagerty, who also spent time in Pussy Galore with Jon Spencer. Although much of the disc is dedicated to Hagerty’s classic-rock-style guitar wanking, he actually plays every instrument on the record, including the dime-store organ that lines nearly every song. Unfortunately, the drums and bass sound as if they were being played in different rooms, if not different states, and that murkiness makes it hard to tell when one song ends and the next begins. When Hagerty nails it, though, he really does nail it, as on the shuffling “Creature Catcher” and the spacey country number “The Menace.” Anyway, to end that story begun earlier: Royal Trux did finally show up and relieve Filthy Jim. And we hope Hagerty will rock that hard again soon.