Royal Trux: Accelerator, (Drag City)
by Unisonic

    No matter what you've heard this year, it can't match the explosive ingenuity of Accelerator. This is Royal Trux's first album for Drag City since their demise on megalabel Virgin Records. Whether it was because of the cover art on their last album for that label or the fact that there just weren't enough "units" moving through chain store checkout counters, Vigin's dropping of Royal Trux did them a favor.
    Accelerator sounds like the budget was flushed, but RTX knows how to work with whatever is thrown at them. Neil Haggert's retarded guitar style is still here, but it's easier to understand and melts in the back for most of the ride now. Big bad groovy drums fill out the front seat, but every now and then a guitar snippet pokes its head up front to remind you that the ride could stall without it. You may find the bass guitar in the mix but it won't find you. The low end on this CD is constantly looking for a place to fit in. It's up to you to decide if it really does, like the drifter you passed hitching on the highway. Jennifer Herrema drives the microphone right down your throat with a unisex snarl that just doesn't sound like anybody else. And isn't that what alternative rock is all about? Who could ask for more?
    Was all of this sound manipulation done deliberately? Or is it a product of label jumping? Who cares! It works and that’s all that matters. A friend once said to me, "When Royal Trux play, a giant question mark forms in the sky." It is that question mark that forces you to play this album again and again. Get into this stuff.

Copyright©WWUH: September/October Program Guide, 1998