Soul Junk

When avant-pop band Trumans Water relocated from San Diego to the Pacific Northwest in early 1994, multi-instrumentalist Glenn Galloway stayed behind, re-christened himself Glen Galaxy, and embarked on a (mostly) solo project called Soul-Junk. Writing songs in praise of Jesus Christ, and in fact drawing a large portion of his lyrics directly from the Bible, Galloway's first album as Soul-Junk, 1950, was released in 1995 on the Holy Kiss label. Numerous releases (CDs, LPs, cassettes, and 7''s) followed on such labels as Homestead, Shrimper, and Sub Pop. All Soul-Junk releases are titled after mid 20th century years — mainly post-war years, strangely enough — though Galloway has been reluctant to clarify any specific meanings associated with the titles or the logic behind their non-sequential order of release. At the same time, Galloway remained tied to Trumans Water, touring and sometimes recording with the band, though not a formal active member. As Soul-Junk, Galloway's music could be described as a mélange of indie rock, hip-hop, soul, and all-around lo-fi sonic experimentation, sharing some similarities with Ween, the Beastie Boys, and Beck. An ambitious double-disc set was released in 1999, entitled 1955, a collection that well-displayed Soul-Junk's genre-hopping tendencies, and 2000 saw the release of the pared-down 1956, which focused on Soul-Junk's quirky hip-hop side.