NOISEY 022: TUSQ

Rock music needs its heroes. It follows, then, that rock music needs Tusq. Uli, Timo, Paul and Holger formed in 2009, and since then have set about creating a valiant brand of anthemic psych-pop that nods to established acts like Rival Schools and the Soundtrack Of Our Lives while retaining a sense of laidback cool that’s all Hamburg.

The members of Tusq have spent significant portions of their adult lives playing in bands that are considered indie royalty in Germany, like D-Sailors, Schrottgrenze, Herrenmagazin and the Coalfield. Supergroup is a loaded term, one that wouldn’t sit too easily with Tusq; their debut album Patience Camp sounds honest and earnest to the bone. Recorded in Finland, the album arrived courtesy of Strange Ways Records in 2010.

Given the long rivalry between the two cities, playing for a Berlin audience tends to be a challenge for any band from Hamburg. But when Noisey saw them at Club Fritz they didn't seem too put out. I guess when you’re a hero you don’t have much to be scared about.