Bossypants

A side project of Jon Spencer of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Boss Hog

Boss Hog
Boss Hog

After 16 years, Boss Hog, a side project of Jon Spencer of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, has returned with the Brood Star EP, a self-described amuse-bouche to the band’s forthcoming full-length album Brood X.

Boss Hog frontwoman, and longtime partner to Spencer, Cristina Martinez tells EW that after so many years, the time had come to release new material.

“We have never stopped playing together,” Martinez says. “Eventually, we had accumulated so much stuff it seemed stupid to not put them on a record.”

Similar to the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Brood Star’s “Wichita Grey” is a messy and sludgy amalgam of American music: trashy, groovy and bluesy, echoing gospel and R&B mixed with pre-Disney, Times Square and Las Vegas decadence.

Advance press for Brood Star calls it “primitive, raw, punk rock ‘n’ roll, re-imagined for a New World.” Martinez describes Brood Star’s new world of social media and, in terms of music, an emphasis on the single instead of the album, as unfamiliar.

“It’s all very foreign to me,” she says, “though I’m proud to say of the band: We now have a proper Facebook page and Instagram. We’ve stepped into the 21st century.”

Boss Hog plays with Hurry Up 8 pm Wednesday, July 13, at Hi-Fi Music Hall’s Lounge; $15 adv., $18 door, 21-plus.