The Hussy, “Round & Down”

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The Hussy’s newest track, “Round & Down,” conjures an image of that slightly beaten-up, cloud grey 1992 Volvo 740 Turbo sedan (boxy, but reliable!) at the back of the high school parking lot, smoke seeping out of the cracks at the tops of the windows and a fragrant eau de weed dispersing through the parking lot. Luckily, the archetypal badasses in the car (long greasy hair, ripped blue jeans, black Ramones tees) are at the back of the lot and safe from the maniacal principal/teacher, who's essentially an amalgam of Principal Rooney from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Mr. Hand from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Loud music is emanating from the Volvo, of course, and it’s now hard to imagine that music being anything other than the upbeat psych-punk of The Hussy song we’re premiering here.

“Round & Down” is an extension of the fun breed of psych rock the Madison, Wisconsin-based group have been producing for the past few years. The track opens with a chordless descending guitar riff, cueing in drums and bass and turning up the energetic revelry of the song. In the back of the mix, textural synths creep in and fill out the sonic space as the vocals chant, “Round and round and round and round and round.” Despite the circular nature of the lyrics, the music itself is anything but; the half-time chaos of the last thirty seconds serves as a fitting climax to a song that continues to progress across its two-minute running time, which is just enough for that pre-homeroom smoke sesh.

“Round & Down” is part of a split 12” with Digital Leather, which will be released by Southpaw Records on May 24.

The Hussy will also be embarking on a couple tours—including some dates with The Faint—in the coming weeks. Check out the tour dates below.

The Hussy Spring Tour:

April:

24 Des Moines, IA @ Wooly’s #
25 Madison, WI @ The Barrymore #
26 St. Louis, MO @ The Ready Room #
27 Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck #

May:

21 Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle
22 Indianapolis, IN @ Melody Inn
23 Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
24 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
25 Cleveland, OH @ Now That’s Class

# = with The Faint