Jesse Hughes, the wildman leader of Palm Desert, CA’s trash-rock outfit the Eagles of Death Metal, is going solo with Honkey Kong, his debut LP under his nickname Boots Electric, out September 20 via Dangerbird Records. Download the LP’s first track, “Boots Electric Theme,” below.
For the album, Hughes swapped the Eagles’ rough’n’raunchy ’70s pastiche for electro glam-pop with help from the Beastie Boys’ keyboardist Money Mark and producer Tony Hoffer (Beck, Depeche Mode). But thankfully his trademark wink-and-grin sex appeal (and sleazy ‘stache) remains gloriously intact.
“Boots Electric is what I am: a Parliament-Funkadelic disciple who knows that when a white boy loves the funk he can become the Honkey Kong,” Hughes tells SPIN. “It’s not a change in musical direction,” he adds, “it’s an alternate route to the same place — the place where the wiggle meets the worm.”
On “Boots Electric Theme,” featuring Brody Dalle, frontwoman of Spinnerette and wife of Hughes’ Eagles bandmate and longtime pal Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), the duo trade steamy verses over come-hither synths, driving drum beats, and grit-nasty guitar licks. Expect to hear it soon in a strip club near you!
“It’s a celebration of romance via complaint,” Hughes explains. “Brody and I are complaining about how lame it is to not be real, ie: how lame not real tits are, how lame not real lips and hair are, how lame it is to not be really horny. It’s a celebration of love and romance by recognizing the lamness of its absence.”
