Q - 4 stars out of 5 - "...a ramshackle beauty....with folk undercurrents....Saxes, synths and Wassler's bellicose violin spruce up the scenery, while Shouse is always colorfully troubled and gleefully broken-hearted..."
CMJ - "...Trading bluesy, electric bursts and tender acoustic strums with guitarist Michael Tighe...[founder Dave] Shouse has fleshed out his songs into powerfully effective, if not cryptic, dramas....it's hard to imagine rock music more emotionally drenched..."
Alternative Press - 4 out of 5 - "...fully developed and more colorful....The Bastards are now unmistakably 'on'....clearly, a solidified group effort..."
Mojo - "...a rich, loose-limbed sound...[David] Shouse's language is evocative and gnarly, his words often delivered in a compelling, declamatory style. It's sophisticated stuff....Bruised and bruising music."
Rovi
Those Bastard Souls' first release was essentially a solo project for David Shouse. For their second offering, Shouse has assembled a crack band including members of several well-known alternative acts including Michael Tighe (Jeff Buckley) on guitar, Matt Fields (Red Red Meat) on bass, and a pair of ex-Dambuilders, Kevin March and Joan Wasser, on drums and violin, respectively. Most of the songs detail crumbling relationships, like the simmering, slow-burn of "The Last Thing That I Ever Wanted Was to Show Up and Blow Your Mind" and the pretty, wistful "The Wake of Your Flood." There's also some fantastic straight-ahead rock like the buoyant garage-pop of "Train from Terminal Boredom" and the chugging, uptempo "Has Anybody Seen Her," complete with handclaps. Debt & Departure is an album whose whole is definitely equal to the sum of its impressive parts. ~ Tom Demalon|
Rovi