White Hassle were a band with the lead singer

Marcellus Hall Marcellus Hall is an American artist and musician. As an illustrator, Hall has worked for ''The New Yorker'' and other publications. As a musician, Hall has performed solo and with bands Railroad Jerk and White Hassle. Biography Marcellus Hall ...

based in New York, New York. Dave Varenka (also of

Railroad Jerk Railroad Jerk was an American, New York-based indie rock band of the 1990s, specializing in a hard-driven punk blues sound. History Railroad Jerk's lineup changed frequently, but the core members were Minnesota native Marcellus Hall (vocals, guita ...

) played drums, with Chris Maxwell and Joachim Kearns on guitars. The Houston Chronicle described their music as "stripped-down ... noisy blues-soaked rock". Their debut album, "National Chain," was released on Matador Records in 1997. White Hassle released albums on Matador Records, Fargo Records, Mazri Records, and

Orange Recordings Orange Recordings is a record label that started in Chicago in 1997. In 2000 the label moved to San Diego and then relocated again to Los Angeles in the early 2002. Orange is currently headquartered in Seattle. Some of the artists on the label in ...

. The band toured Europe and America before disbanding in 2006.

Critical reaction

Modest Mouse singer, Isaac Brock, credits White Hassle's "Life Is Still Sweet" in helping turn around his songwriting and influencing their hit song "Float On." "When I heard it (Life is Still Sweet)," Brock said, "I thought, 'This is nice. This is actually an unsarcastically positive song.' I was like, 'Let's fuck this doom-and- gloom bullshit.' It was a really good thing to get reminded of, you know?" delarue described the song "Life Is Still Sweet" live performance as uplifting and a crowd favorite. Jason Ankeny described the music as "primitive folk/blues" After the song Life Is Still Sweet, the band's second most notable song may be Star Position whose lyrics contemplate the single life: "The key is in the ignition / If you're single you can sleep in the star position." Hall sang a version of the song on Eugene Mirman and Bobby Tisdale's "Invite Them Up" comedy CD. He also re-recorded the song for his solo album The First Line.

Discography

Albums

* National Chain (Matador, 1997) * '' Death of Song'' (Orange Music, 2003) * ''Your Language'' (Fargo, 2005) * ''The Death of Song/The Watertank'' (Fargo, 2005)

Critical reaction

Discography

Albums

EP

References

External links