As much as Foundwaves might like some of the skinny-jean-wearing, skinny-moustache-coiffing, skinny-hipster-fronted music that is dominating the indie airwaves right now, it’s great to find a band that unselfconsciously and unapologetically kicks ass. Reverse does just that. The Boston rock veterans left a big space between their debut record, Jersey Switch, in 2002 and their 2009 release of Monkey Mind, but fortunately the hiatus from recording didn’t do anything to dampen this power trio’s ferocity. (Leave a comment below for a chance to win a copy of Monkey Mind).
On the title track, guitarist Ian Kennedy and bassist Mike Quinn play like a single-minded organism, unleashing relentless synchronized jack-hammer licks over drummer Mike Piehl’s sledgehammer drums. The rest of the record is filled with similarly hard-hitting tracks, but Reverse knows how to put in just enough whispers and pauses into the music that their explosiveness always feels fresh and powerful. Although the trio plays with unbelievably tight precision, they never lose that rawness that keeps their music perilously close to combustion.
They might still be a “local band”, but Reverse certainly doesn’t sound like one. We hope that their stadium-sized sound doesn’t blow the windows out of the small venues they’re playing right now.
Foundwaves has never added to the Foundwaves Weekly Concert Picks mid-week, but we’re making an exception for Reverse’s show at Rosebud Bar and Grill this Saturday, April 3rd. Although they aren’t listed on the Rosebud website, Reverse is in fact on the bill for the Dirt Mall CD release party.
Add the show to your calendar and make your way over to Davis Square’s newest music venue this weekend. In the meantime, stream and download the track “Monkey Mind”, buy a copy of the full record from iTunes or CDBaby, and check out a Live Video Premiere below from their February show at Great Scott (courtesy Extraneous Noise).