Sometime Sweet Susan - Fuse (1993) & Point ep (1994)

Whomever has tried to kill-off the memory of Milwaukee's Sometime Sweet Susan over the last decade-and-a-half has done a pretty damn good job. In fact, a Google search predominantly pulls up links for dozens of references to a psychotic, hardcore-skin flick from the late '60s that the band usurped their moniker from. I suppose I can rationalize the trio's lack of web presence by virtue of them burning out just before the WWW truly became ubiquitous, but anyway...

Taking their barbed cues from legends like Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, and to a far lesser extent Smashing Pumpkins, Sometime Sweet Susan manicured a scalding amount of dissonance and unruly guitar feedback into something relatively listenable. This isn't to say their debut, Fuse is an unremitting hook-fest. Hardly in fact, but bubbling up from all the noise is the tuneful charge of "Blanket Kiss," which I like to regard as quintessential, indie-rawk gold. For the album's unlikely finale, SSS obliterates Madonna’s “Justify My Love” into an all out shronk-fest, retaining the lyrics and precious little else.

The melody quotient is raised a few notches higher on the even more consistent follow-up ep, Point, that is if you subtract about 15 minutes from the clamorous, meandering "Cecille B. Dumbshit," which in itself totals the better part of a half-hour. The four much briefer cuts that sandwich it are worthy of your respect, particularly if the aforementioned Fuse left any positive impression on your frazzled eardrums.

Sometime... called it a day after their second full-length, The Coming Lights in '95. More recently, singer/guitarist Jim Warchol delved into this curious musical project. 

 

Fuse

01. Piss Take

02. Blanket Kiss

03. 20,000 Volt Monster

04. Installer

05. Beam

06. Crush

07. Hacker Vibe

08. Justify My Love 

 

Point ep

01. Kendall

02. Pathological Liar

03. Tannery

04. Cecille B. Dumbshit

05. Point 

 

Fuse: Hear

Point: Hear