Reigning Sound - Love & Curses

It's been five long years since Greg Cartwright's Reigning Sound dropped their last full-length studio album, Too Much Guitar. Not that Cartwright has been resting on his laurels by any means. The Reigning Sound backed the Shangri-La's Mary Weiss on her critically acclaimed comeback album, Dangerous Game, which was produced and largely written by Cartwright. The band backed Weiss on tour and even appeared with her on the Conan O'Brien show. Greg Cartwright also produced, penned songs for and played in the Detroit Cobras for a spell. All the while the Reigning Sound toured the US on and off and released a couple of live albums, yet they never managed to get into the studio to record. All the while Greg was stock-piling loads of new tunes. Finally late last year the band went into Ardent studios in Memphis and laid down a bunch of songs. Then, some months later, the band went into Echo Mountain studios in North Carolina and recorded a bunch more. In the end the band had more than enough for two albums. After carefully whittling it down to the cream of the musical crop Love & Curses is here and is guaranteed to please all long time fans and will no doubt gain them many new ones.Love & Curses (title comes from Memphis TV horror host Sivad) is a return to the sound and style of the band's incredible Time Bomb High School. The band once again features a full time keyboardist, Dave Amels, and has jettisoned the lo-fi approach used on Too Much Guitar in favor of a bigger, warmer studio sound. As with Time Bomb High School, the album strikes a balance between soulful rockers and beautiful ballads. The results are a rock n' roll album as near to perfection as any you're likely to hear this year.Watch for the Reigning Sound on tour in the US and Europe this fall.

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