JJ Got Live RaTX

RTX, sounds like the spawn that ’80s hair metal and ’90s grunge never had.

After regaling the world with sun-blasted, gritty rock that never caved to the saccharine demands of the MTV generation in Royal Trux, Jennifer Herrema’s new project, RTX, sounds like the spawn that ’80s hair metal and ’90s grunge never had. Leading deceptively with a rolling psychedelic jam-out, JJ Got Live RaTX doesn’t hold your hand through its meaty rockology of throaty, echoed vocals, shred guitar, and anthemic beats—in fact, it flat-out says “You Should Shut Up.” But who better to school you than the world’s coolest hesher babe, frontwoman Herrema? With less vocal drag and more spitfire precision than usual, she even approaches a Marc Bolanesque charm in “Cheap Wine Time.” Posing a reflexive question in “Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl,” Herrema’s androgynous persona proves rock swagger is genderless. If RTX is the id of rock ‘n’ roll where all acid-washed desires surface, then JJ is one guilty pleasure to add to the collection under your bed.