10 Releases From A Departing Year – Nurse With Wound – Huffin' Rag Blues

Tracklist:

Willy The Weeper

Groove Grease (Hot Catz)

The Funktion Of The Hairy Egg

Black Teeth

Thrill Of Romance…?

Livin’ With The Night

Ketamineaphoria

Juice Head Crazy Lady

Wash The Dust From My Heart

Cruisin’ For A Bruisin

All Of Me

“Huffin Rag Blues” is the first new material from NWW in 4 years  (and another addition to band’s lengthy discography) . Primarily, its a work of two people – Steven Stapleton and his frequent collaborator Andrew Liles, although the album also features appearances by Suzi Firenza, Colin Potter, Lynn Jackson, Petr Vastl (Aranos) and many others.
The closest relative of an album, according to Brainwashed, is NWW’s 1985 release “The Sylvie And Babs Hi-Fi Companion”, which featured a large ensemble of musicians (including David Tibet from Current 93 and David Jackman from Organum), who collectively destroyed and mocked various easy listening favorites. Brainwashed, however, pronounced the album to be a dissapointment and their conclusion was that “There’s still more than enough moments of cleverness on display throughout Huffin’ Rag to demonstrate that Stapleton and co. can easily get back on the horse and make something great again. Until then, curious listeners are advised to comb online auction sites for reasonably priced copies of Sylvie and Babs.”
Aversion.com gave the album 2 stars out of 5 and concluded that “After so many years and so many albums, maybe making music is as tiresome as conventional sex for your folks. That doesn’t mean Nurse with Wound should keep attempting it, though. If the band’s this desperate for methods to spruce up its sound, maybe it’s time to find the musical equivalent of couple’s therapy.”
Weirdo Music website also noted that the album has its problems, but also said that “Just as Angelo Badalamenti employed similar sounds from earlier decades as a springboard to create progressive, experimental soundtracks, Stapleton and company have cooked up a lounge sound for the new millennium, a shiny monument to future possibilities of Dadacoustics and Cacaphonics.”