Reverse
Monkey Mind
2009
You know that game where you put together your dream band from people in bands around town? Wait, what? You don’t play that game? Sure, you do. Anyway, sometimes when I play that game I end up with Reverse.
Monkey Mind is Exhibit A of what said dream band can do. Let’s start with Mr. Ian Kennedy. The man is one of the most creative guitar players in town. Have you ever heard a Telecaster make such sounds? It’s like he sprinkled it with magic riff dust. Then you’ve got Mike Piehl behind the drums. He’s a beast. Look no further than opening track, “Fluorescent”, for proof. Mike Quinn is about as solid as they come on bass. The kicker is that his backing vocals mesh perfectly with Ian’s croon-meets-scream vocals.
All of this would be for naught without some songs to back up the sonic fury. Thankfully, Reverse don’t let us down there, either. Monkey Mind is one solid record in the songwriting department. The aforementioned “Fluorescent” is in-your-face, melodic and has a heavy groove. I think I’ve mentioned in the past how much I love “Victoria”. “Slow” alternates achingly beautiful verses with a devastating chorus. “January” is a great example of how well Ian and Mike Quinn’s vocals work together. The title track and “Helicopters” are as frantic as “Good Cop Bad Cop” is deliberate. Every song has hooks to spare.
Monkey Mind came out some seven years after Reverse’s debut, The Jersey Switch. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait that long for their next record.*
Full Disclosue: The lovely and talented Nicole Anguish of Daykamp Creative did the artwork for this record.** That doesn’t make this record any less of a monster. Just letting you know.
Where to get it:
* Seriously, guys, don’t make us wait that long again.
** I think the artwork was done some 4 years before the record came out.*