Wussy

Hailing from America's Midwest, Wussy ranks among the region's most acclaimed independent acts, thanks to their singularly introspective songcraft and a potent, atmospheric guitar onslaught that has earned an ardent following along with mounting critical praise. Centered on the contrasting vocal blend of Lisa Walker and Chuck Cleaver, the project originated in 2001 after the pair performed together informally at a Cincinnati event; before long the duo grew into a complete ensemble. Their first full-length, Funeral Dress, appeared in 2005 via Shake-It Records, and although the pace of touring and recording remained unhurried, subsequent releases—Wussy in 2009, Strawberry in 2011, and Attica! in 2014—steadily built an audience, nudging the band from indie-rock obscurity toward wider notice.

Guitarist and singer Chuck Cleaver had already tasted modest success in the 1990s as a member of Cincinnati's Ass Ponys. After issuing Lohio in 2001 he disbanded that group, convinced he had exhausted its possibilities. Shortly afterward he was invited to play a local music awards show but felt uneasy performing solo; fellow Cincinnati songwriter Lisa Walker offered to join him, and the results prompted them to continue collaborating. Taking the name Wussy, Cleaver and Walker completed the lineup in 2002 by adding bassist Mark Messerly and drummer Dawn Burman. Funeral Dress, their 2005 debut on the independent Shake-It label, earned an A grade from Village Voice critic Robert Christgau, who became an early and vocal supporter; in 2012 he asserted that “Wussy have been the best band in America since they released the first of their five superb albums in 2005.”

Around the 2009 release of their self-titled third album, Dawn Burman departed and Joe Klug took over on drums. Following Strawberry's arrival in 2011, the band had grown popular enough for brief East Coast runs alongside regular Midwest dates; 2012 brought their first West Coast shows and support slots for the Afghan Whigs' reunion tour, with Whigs bassist John Curley serving as producer on several Wussy recordings. By then the group had expanded to a quintet after former Ass Ponys guitarist John Erhardt joined on pedal steel and keyboards. Attica!, the fifth studio album issued in 2014, received one of the band's strongest reviews to date, earning Christgau's rare A+ and a place on Spin’s list of the year’s fifty best albums; it also marked Wussy’s first U.K. release, handled by Damnably. Forever Sounds followed in 2016. For 2018’s What Heaven Is Like the band included two covers—“Aliens in Our Midst,” originally by the Twinkeyz, and Kath Bloom’s “Oblivion”—among eight new originals. On May 7, 2020, Chuck Cleaver posted that John Erhardt had died at age 58, adding, “To say we'll miss him is an understatement. It’s not gonna be the same from here on out nor should it.”