XO’s: Pronounced Hugs and Kisses cassette

Description

Our take:Im selective about the pop-informed punk rock that I listen to. Maybe Im a snob, but so much melodic punk I hear seems to lack substance and originality, borrowing moves from music I love without capturing the same magic. One current musician I back, though, is Joe Sussman. Joe first came onto my radar through his band Nancy, a two-piece featuring him and Nat Brower, another musician I keep a close eye on (his project Brower is not to be missed). NancysWith ChildandA Nice PackageLPs both came out in 2016 and we listened to them all the time in the shop Jeff even liked them, and hes even more selective about poppy punk than I am. I then followed Joe to his other projects like Dangus Tarkus and Muff Divers; Nancy also remains a going concern, having just released a new album on Neck Chop and Erste Theke Tontrger. XOs is a new Chicago-based project featuring Joe, who also released it on his Ketchup & Mustard Industries label, along with Mat from Liquids and Alex from Bleeding Gums. While Ive devoted several sentences to fanboy-ing out on Joe, of the related bands, XOs sounds the most like Liquids, whom I also like, though Ive had trouble keeping up with all of their releases. I also hear the Dickies and the Spits in XOs music, two bands who know their way around a great punk song. If you like any of these bands, XOs will be a slam dunk for you. Every song rules. And Im reluctant to put too much emphasis on cover songs, but their cover of Two of Hearts is awesome.