Bluesmen Jon Spencer and Matt Verta Ray, known together as Heavy Trash, will return Sept. 4 with their sophomore album, “Going Way Out With Heavy Trash,” via Yep Roc. Much like the duo’s previous self-titled effort, the set was co-produced by the pair. But unlike “Heavy Trash,” “Going Way Out” boasts three different backing bands, including the Sadies.
“This record was really a studio exercise, an experiment. When we toured off the first record, we had some time to play this music with all of these guys and make the songs sound great live. After it was over, we thought, ‘Why don’t we record with our live musicians?'” Spencer tells Billboard.com. “It was like creating several different scenes.”
Aside from recording in Boston with the Canada-based Sadies, Heavy Trash also collaborated with New York’s Simon Chardiet and Phil Hernandez plus a number of Danish contributors, gathered from bands Tremolo Beer Gut and Powersolo.
While each group contributed their own flavors to the album, Spencer’s voice is at the forefront throughout, or “like the common thread,” he says. “Each group had its strengths, but it all reflects what we had written before we went into the studio.”
If possible, Spencer is hoping to take each of the groups out on the road with Heavy Trash. The group already has a half-dozen dates slated in the Northeast during mid-September.
As for Spencer’s other group, Blues Explosion, “we don’t have any plans to record or tour right now.” However, In the Red Records will be releasing a Blue Explosion singles compilation, “Jukebox Explosion” toward the end of September.
