Nashville: the capital of Tennessee and the state’s second-largest city, which is widely and deservedly known as Music City. Pussy: a cat, a willow, a desired destination.
Put them together, and you get either a hooker doing business in the fourth-largest city in the southeastern United States or the sound of a musical chainsaw shredding a live amp while a microburst blows through a Guitar Center warehouse.
The latter Nashville Pussy is the work of vocalist/guitarist Blaine Cartwright, who howls like Lemmy after swallowing a thistle dipped in bourbon and liquid smoke; his wife Ruyter Suys, whose guitar attack would have to be dialed back to be weaponized by the military; and the thunder-rolling/lightning-flashing rhythm section of bassist Bonnie Buitrago and drummer Jeremy Thompson.
Nashville Pussy is nearing its 20th anniversary, and although they scored a Metal Grammy nomination for “Fried Chicken and Coffee” from 1998’s Let Them Eat Pussy, the Atlanta quartet has since remained resolutely underground and unapologetic in its intention to remain that way. The band’s most radio-appropriate material would still require more beeps than a Roadrunner cartoon; after two decades, that’s not changing.
The band’s last album, 2014’s Up the Dosage, showed Nashville Pussy in peak condition, musically and lyrically, with the standard drinking/drugging/filthy sex references up front and perfectly framed by a blistering soundtrack. In advance of the band’s anniversary, SPV recently released Ten Years of Pussy, a 16-track compilation of highlights from the group’s last three albums as well as a bonus live disc.
Nashville Pussy is no mere Metal novelty with a hillbilly slant; the band members roar with Motörhead’s intensity, live daily by their famous slogan, “In Lust We Trust,” and blast out songs with their tongues firmly in your cheeks. Enjoy, pussies.
