The Night Marchers - See You In Magic (2008)

John Reis (aka Speedo) delivers exactly what you expect on every
album that bears his name. Pure, hard, fun, and nasty rock & roll
action. Rocket from the Crypt? Check. Drive Like Jehu? Check. The
Sultans? Check. Hot Snakes? Yep. New band the Night Marchers?
You'd better believe it. Teaming up with former Hot Snakes Gar
Wood and Jason Kourkounis, and Tommy Kitsos of CPC Gangbangs, Reis
delivers an album of rampaging hard rock that kicks hard and
sticks with you like a monster hangover. The sound of See You in
Magic is probably closest to that of the Sultans. The two bands
share a light and nimble approach that RFTC lacked. They were a
knockout blow; the Night Marchers are more likely to jab you in
the solar plexus. Either way, by the end of the album you know
you've been in a fight. The guitars are taut and fierce, the drums
pounding but not overbearing, and the occasional shouted backing
vocals mix well with Reis' powerful everyman vocal delivery. Reis'
skill at crafting songs with hooky choruses has never deserted him
and is strong as ever here. "Bad Bloods," "I Wanna Deadbeat You,"
and the insanely great and almost funky "Whose Lady R U?" all
stand with the catchiest, most memorable RFTC songs. Elsewhere,
the bandmembers charge through doomy ("And I Keep Holding On"),
loose-limbed ("Total Bloodbath"), and storming ("Closed for
Inventory") rockers like they were playing for their lives. Among
all the noise and carnage, the quartet shows a rare moment of
subtlety on the restrained and almost relaxed "You've Got Nerve,"
which winningly takes a page from the Spoon playbook of "less is
more." That philosophy is pretty alien to a Reis-fronted band and
it speaks to the power of the Night Marchers that they can pull it
off so well. They also do a fine job on the very poppy
Spector-lite ballad "Panther in Crime." Add the Night Marchers to
Speedo's roll of triumphs and feel free to rank See You in Magic
as one of his finest moments. It's really that good.