The Howling Hex preview

The Howling Hex
The Hideout, Chicago
Saturday, March 24, 2007

Avant-garde guitarist and vocalist Neil Michael Hagerty’s latest incarnation, The Howling Hex, scuttles all over the place like a bee dotting multiple varieties of flowers. On 1-2-3, a compilation of the band’s three limited-edition vinyl albums (Introducing The Howling Hex, Section 2, and The Return Of The Third Tower), styles jumble and rattle around haphazardly. Part Dismemberment Plan (“Be The Last To Stay In A Haunted House”), part Beach Boys (“De Colores”), Hagerty produces a sound quite like no other.

The former member of Pussy Galore and Royal Trux continues to throw together dissonant sounds that remind of days lying in bed with the stereo on, yet somehow unable to get away from the bleed through of your hearing disabled grandmother’s soap opera on television in the next room. The cacophonous “Bird To Mutt” has two differing agendas that don’t know they are part of the same song. Along the way, a few “traditional” pieces pop up, mostly featuring female vocalist Lyn Madison (“Breakaway” and “Rock-A-Doodle-Doo”).

The stage is set for this perplexing collection and Hagerty’s famously fast fingers. Transferring this material will rely heavily on this indie rocker’s charisma and stealth.

Dreamweapon open.

— Janine Schaults

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly