Ball of Wax Audio Quarterly

Saint Nefarious (featuring Holly and the Dead Saints) is primarily the work of one Lattney B., who was one-half of lo-fi bedroom pop band Grumpy Bear a decade or so ago and also recorded under the name Holly and the Dead Saints. [And is now a regular and valued contributor to this very blog. -ed.] These were the halcyon days before Bandcamp and Spotify, when honest-to-goodness music blogs roamed the digital world [Hey! -ed.] and CD-R labels were all the rage for discriminating underground music makers and seekers. I first virtually met Lattney B. through such networks, then later IRL when my old band stopped in Tucson on tour. A gentleman’s gentlemen, Lattney and his Grumpy Bear partner Tyler later offered me one of their EPs to put out on my little label (which I did on limited-edition handmade CD-R, thank you very much), and thus the tiny-gem Songs from the Abattoir first made its way into the world. Anywho, there’s a lot of inter-related backstory here and it’s wonderful to finally get fruit from the Grumpy Bear tree on a volume on ye olde Ball of Wax.

“Yr Only Friend” enters the world both ragged and confident, lifting the simple three chord strumming pattern from “King of Carrot Flowers” before effect-laden electric bass and second noodling guitar fill in the hissy, lo fi aural space. Things sounds impromptu yet urgent, the vocals coming in double tracked (one track falsetto and more or less doubling), crooning pearls of wisdom like “There are things that your mother never told you about / like if you go too far inside your head, you may never come out” as well as assorted oohs and aahs. Later in the track some hand percussion (an egg shaker? toy tambourine?) and an oscillating noisemaker take a kind of solo before one more vocal cycle takes things home. The contrast between confident and haphazard makes “Yr Only Friend” charming and vital, intimate and a bit disorienting like bedroom pop should really be. This is a tiny anthem for the hyper-personal music obsessive – so probably perfect for you if you’re still reading this.

The beginning of this song reminds me of the first time I rode a mechanical bull. It was in a smoky, loud, and dark bar, and I was bursting with excitement. And, like my ride, I thought it would be raucous from beginning to end, but this track wound up surprising me. During the breakdown, lead singer Sam Russell refers to International Women’s Day and asks fellow Heathen Casey Ruff if he knows about “pussy power,” and he chimes in with how he is “well aware.” It’s in the background and feels totally impromptu. Like most of this artist’s music, it makes me laugh aloud with joy. I’m happy for everyone who gets ahold of the earworm “Too Far in the South.” It’s a great way to start the day.

Doug Hood & the Wholly Heathens will play live this Friday at the Ball of Wax 52 release show!