Reigning Sound - indeed
bdub383 | 08/13/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"These guys are already the undisputed kings of the garage. It's a dark garage full of heartfelt, scratchy r&b, soul, psych-pop, rock'n'roll and punk 45's. This album took awhile but it doesn't disappoint at all. No lemons or throw away tunes. The tunes run the full gamut of RS's previous efforts (power-pop/punk bashers, dark brooding ballads, R&B ravers)
Greg Cartwright is probably the only feller on earth that can write and sing songs that are filled with the darkest melancholy and lovesick pain and not sound the slightest bit sappy. His voice is a unique gift/weapon."
Sounds Reign Supreme!
Alan Hutchins | Denver, CO | 10/22/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Love and Curses may be the Reigning Sound's finest studio achievement to date. Prior releases such as Time Bomb High School or Too Much Guitar contain many fine songs and moments, but don't hold together as well as a "whole album" (all 14 songs in 37 minutes of it) as this one.
Greg Cartwright and his ferocious band can tear it up mightily, as demonstrated here on such cardio-workout, garage-rock ravers as "Call Me", "If I Can't Come Back", "Stick Up For Me" (featuring, count `em, just three chords) and "Debris". They don't just melt the speaker cones here, though. They spend a fair amount of time in mid-tempo/quieter territory in such songs as "Something To Hold Onto", "Love Won't Leave You A Song", or "Polly Anne". There's even a genre-bending closer, "Banker And A Liar", that throws a dash of Tom Waits, a generous helping of Dylanesque lyrics and a dollop of the eastern European territory covered by Devotchka into a blender together.
Though Mr. Cartwright is not doing an impression of Bruce Springsteen, the shouted, Boss-like vocal inflections and the spirit of Bruce's rave-up songwriting circa 1979 seem to manifest themselves a few times, as on prior releases as well. Here, if you squint a bit, you may be able to hear songs like the opener, "Brake It" and "The Bells" as outtakes from The River. No wonder Little Steven likes this band so much.
This release is living proof that straight-up, well-crafted, retro-influenced-but-not-just-rehashed-oldies, actual Rock-n-Roll(or maybe Garage Rock)played by humans and sung without pitch correction technology is still alive and thrashing out there somewhere, even if you have to look far beyond the major label mainstream to find it.
"
Favorite album of 2009
Benjamin Hirsch | 01/04/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a wonderful album. As a huge music fan who is easily bored and jaded, it takes a lot for an album to totally blow me away. I have been listening to this album pretty much constantly since I picked it up. It's soooooo good!"
