Hi Sheriffs of Blue Live: Mudd Club & A7 12″
HI SHERIFFS OF BLUE started out as more of a concept than a band. An experimental post-punk unit with a rotating cast of noteworthy NYC players including Lydia Lunch, Jerry Williams, and Neneh Cherry (of “Buffalo Stance” fame), the group initially incorporated wacked-out takes on jazz, disco, and noise into their performances. Eventually, they settled into a more permanent lineup, and in the process, forged the rootsy and charging off-kilter blues sound heard on these live recordings from ’82 and ’83. The resulting din is somewhat ahead of its time. If you close your eyes and listen, forgetting everything I just said, you can easily imagine this as an obscure entry in the ’90s bastard blues revival alongside bands like the OBLIVIANS and JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION. The tunes range from speedy ragtime jaunts (“Sloppy Drunk Again”) to lurching disjointed dirges (“Wolf”) and beyond, all of it caked in claustrophobic club atmosphere. They straddled the line between no wave art and the punk Southern gothic of the GUN CLUB like no one else, haphazardly paving the way for future Delta degenerates.