Crypt-Style!

Pussy Galore called it quits in 1990, but Jon Spencer kept busy. He was in Boss Hog with his wife, Cristina Martinez, and also played in Gibson Bros. and the Honeymoon Killers. It was in the latter group that he connected with drummer Russell Simins; the two, along with second guitarist Judah Bauer, formed the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in 1991. In contrast to Pussy Galore’s junkyard rampages and self-immolating noise collages, the JSBX (as they came to be known) threw improvised-sounding collages of blues and rockabilly riffs at the listener, Spencer’s and Bauer’s guitars intertwining and doing battle, with Simins’ powerful backbeat driving it all as the frontman extemporized in showmanlike fashion, making every lyric an impassioned exhortation to get on down. In a pair of recording sessions — with Kramer in July, and Steve Albini in November/December — they bashed out close to 40 songs which were split among three albums, with many overlaps. Of these, Crypt Style, released on the German Crypt label, has the most visceral impact; opening with their man-on-fire version of Jerry Lee Lewis’s “Lovin’ Up A Storm” definitely helps.