Brandon Tussey - Outfitted for the Apocalypse

Review from Razorcake
Kentucky’s Connie Dungs were one of the very best pop punk bands of the 1990s. It was fascinating seeing them morph from fun, sophomoric comedy to dark, brooding complexity over the course of their six now-classic albums and multiple EPs. The front-man, Brandon Tussey, has a singularly bizarre nasal voice that definitively brings the snot into snotty. Forming from the ashes of the Connie Dungs was A Radio With Guts, an even darker band with songs focusing almost exclusively on themes of hopelessness, despair, and suicide. Beat Heart Sweet Stereo remains one of this millennium’s greatest albums to date, a mind-numbingly potent emo-pop record that manages to uplift despite its surface message of heartbreak. A Radio With Guts recorded a second full length that remains unreleased. Brandon Tussey, like the late Lance Hahn, is one of the most prolific punk songwriters, constantly churning out new material. Outfitted for the Apocalypse represents his first album without a backup band, with Tussey playing all of the instruments. The guitars are noisier than any on his prior releases, but it still has the signature late-Dungs/ARWG dark Tussey touch that his fans adore. The lyrics aren’t all doom and gloom, although there’s still a fair amount of musing on death and suicide. The songwriting is stellar throughout and the intentionally noisy mix gives the Jawbreaker-inspired pop a sense of unease and aggression. Tussey’s lovably odd voice shines through on each track, with tinges of chilling sweetness underneath the snot. Tussey outdoes himself with his most mature recording to date. “I Am a Sick Man” is my favorite track, with lyrics taken from two different translations of the opening sentences of Dostoyevsky’s Notes from the Underground. There’s even a redo of the ARWG song “Spiders across the Stars,” featured here with a crazy, wonderfully chaotic remix that highlights the uniqueness of this album. Self-released with beautifully hand-done covers, Outfitted for the Apocalypse is far and away the standout release of the year. –....Art Ettinger



1. ...and the music played (2:17)
2. scissors (1:23)
3. symphony of night (as ashes crash) (5:19)
4. my self-control is on parole (3:03)
5. artificer (2:50)
6. spiders across the stars (2:56)
7. this kiss is all that matters now (4:36)
8. oeuvre outrageous (4:25)
9. teeth, hair and eyeballs (3:13)
10. sorry won't sell (2:31)
11. i am a sick man (3:44)
12. giving up (3:15)
13. here lies the failure's bones (5:52)

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BRANDON TUSSEY(MYSPACE)YOU CAN BUY THE ALBUM FOR $10ppd FROM HIM