As good as
Reigning Sound's 2004 album
Too Much Guitar was, the title was both an accurate self-review and a preview of what was inside; the deep
soul influences that made the group's first two albums so memorable were pushed to the side, and while the album rocked hard and strong, it seemed as if bandleader and songwriter
Greg Cartwright was ignoring an integral part of his musical personality in favor of making his music better understood to the nuevo-
garage crowd. After a three-year layoff and a rewarding detour backing up
Shangri-Las' vocalist
Mary Weiss on her fine solo album
Dangerous Game (with
Cartwright producing and writing most of the material),
Reigning Sound have returned to the studio with
Love and Curses. The album finds the group getting most of their balance back, and while calling it a return to form suggests
Too Much Guitar was more flawed than it really was,
Love and Curses gives a clearer and more compelling picture of what
Reigning Sound does best.
"Call Me," "Only Want You More," and
"Is It True" confirm that
Cartwright and his partners'
rock & roll is as tough as ever and bassist
David Wayne Gay and drummer
Lance Wille are a powerful and elemental rhythm section, but here they also make more room for the soulful edges of
Cartwright's voice and
Dave Amels' keyboards. And when the band turns down the tempo and lets their
R&B influences step forward,
Cartwright reaffirms that he's one of the most powerful and affecting blue-eyed soul men recording today, and the spirit and passion in
"Trash Talk," "Something to Hold Onto," and
"Love Won't Leave You a Song" is thrilling stuff that hardly anyone on the
indie scene today can touch.
Reigning Sound also dip their toes into the social relevance thing with the working class anthem
"Stick Up for Me" and
"Banker and a Liar," a curious but fascinating finale which matches a slightly
Dylan-esque lyric about the wealthy and corrupt backed with an accordion and a mandolin.
Love and Curses features 14 songs driven by soul, strength and fierce belief, and with a voice as strong as
Greg Cartwright fronting a band this tight and effective,
Reigning Sound are just about unbeatable; they're one of America's great bands and they're firing on all cylinders with
Love and Curses. ~ Mark Deming
![Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness [Clean]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/5099997855323_p0_v3_s90x140.jpg "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness [Clean]")
