Wussy is an American five-piece

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band formed in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

in 2001. The band consists of

Chuck Cleaver Charles James Cleaver is an American songwriter, singer and guitarist, best known as a member of the Cincinnati-based bands Ass Ponys (formed in 1988, went on hiatus in 2005) and Wussy (formed in 2001). Biography Cleaver grew up in Clarksville, ...

(vocals/guitar), Lisa Walker (vocals/guitar), Joe Klug (drums) and Mark Messerly (bass). Former members include Dawn Burman (drums) and John Erhardt (pedal steel). Cleaver and Walker write most of the songs and either alternate lead vocals or sing them in harmony. Live performances feature the two vocalists having a "combative rapport". They have released seven albums, one live album, two EPs, one mini LP and a number of singles. The group has received critical acclaim from ''

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History

Wussy formed in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2001 while

had just released the last album with his previous group, Ass Ponys. He met Lisa Walker and asked her to perform with him at a local awards show in Cincinnati in 2001. Following the performance the duo decided to form a band together. Walker, originally from Muncie, Indiana, attended

Cedarville University Cedarville University is a private Baptist university in Cedarville, Ohio. It is chartered by the state of Ohio, approved by the Ohio Board of Regents, and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Established in 1887, the school was origina ...

and has worked in marketing. They were joined by Messerly on bass and Dawn Burman on drums in 2002. Burman had not yet mastered the instrument but joined as she "loved their sound and wanted to be part of it". Cleaver finalised his previous band with a compilation in 2005 leaving him to concentrate on Wussy. They made their recording debut in 2005 with the album ''

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'' on Shake it Records, the label of a local record store of the same name. The record was produced by

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at his Ultrasuede Studios, where the band would continue to record future albums. While making the album all four band members suffered some personal hardship that inspired much of the 2007 record ''Left for Dead.'' Contrary to other releases it relied heavily on Walker's writing, and was described by Spin as doing "relationship songs right". It was followed by a self-titled album in 2009. The same year drummer Burman left and was replaced by Joe Klug. In late 2010, the band recorded an acoustic version of their debut as ''Funeral Dress II'' live at Ultrasuede that was released for Record Store Day 2011. The album ''Strawberry'' was released in November 2011 and was described as "driven by an unpretentious, rust-flecked honesty and a warped worldview". Former Ass Ponys member John Erhardt joined the band before recording started. The band embarked on a three-week headlining tour in support of the album. In 2012 they released the Europe-only seventeen track compilation ''Buckeye'' on Damnably Records, their first international release. In 2014 they released the album ''Attica!'', the title inspired by the film '' Dog Day Afternoon,'' while the single and

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

tribute "Teenage Wasteland", received some airplay. The album was released in the UK through Damnably Records. In March 2016 the band released their seventh album, ''Forever Sounds'', which reached number 20 on the Billboard Heatseeker album chart. The band's eighth album, '' What Heaven is Like'', was released in May 2018. At the beginning of the band Cleaver and Walker were a couple but they separated in 2007. On the band's name, Wussy: Cleaver joked that "I think it looks good on a t-shirt." Pedal steel guitarist John Erhardt died on May 4, 2020.

Critical acclaim

The band is a favorite with some rock critics. In 2012

wrote that "Wussy have been the best since they released the first of their five superb albums in 2005", and he has called them his "favorite band". Two albums later, Charles Taylor said the impact of Wussy's poetic lyrics and evocative sounds "brings you immediately back to the way we received rock and roll as solitary adolescents, as if the songs were radio transmissions from a resistance we hadn't dared to hope existed."

Members

– Vocals, Guitar * Lisa Walker – Vocals, Guitar * Mark Messerly – Bass, Keys * Joe Klug – Drums

Former Members

* John Erhardt – Pedal Steel, Guitar (died May 2020) * Dawn Burman – Drums

Discography

Albums

* 2005: ''

'' (Shake It) * 2007: '' Left for Dead'' (Shake It) * 2009: '' Wussy'' (Shake It) * 2011: ''

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'' (Shake It) * 2014: ''

Attica! ''Attica!'' is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band Wussy. It was released on May 5, 2014 on Damnably in the United Kingdom, making it their first studio album to be released there, and the following day on Shake It Records in the Uni ...

'' (Shake It/Damnably) * 2016: '' Forever Sounds'' (Shake It/Damnably) * 2018: '' What Heaven is Like'' (Shake It/Damnably)

EPs

* 2008: ''Rigor Mortis EP'' (Shake It) * 2013: ''Duo'' mini-LP (Shake It) * 2015: ''Public Domain, Volume I'' (Shake It) * 2018: ''Getting Better'' (Damnably)

Singles and splits

* 2009: "Fly Fly Fly" / "No Apology" – Wussy / The Fervor (Karate Body) * 2012: Dangerous Highway Volume 3: "Got Down Last Saturday Night" / "Breakfast in Bed" - Heartless Bastards / Wussy (Shake It) * 2016: "Dropping Houses" b/w "Folk Night at Fucky's" (Shake It / Damnably) * 2016: "Ceremony" b/w "Days and Hours" (Damnably)

Compilations

* 2011: ''Funeral Dress II'' (Shake It, live acoustic) * 2012: ''Buckeye'' (Damnably) * 2013: ''Berneice Huff and Son, Bill Sings… Popular Favorites'' (digital only, self-released) * 2020: ''Ghosts'' (digital only, self-released)

References

External links

Wussy.org
(official website) *
CincyMusic Profile
{{Authority control 2001 establishments in Ohio Indie rock musical groups from Ohio Musical groups from Cincinnati Musical groups established in 2001