Ride The Wild Night＜Green Vinyl/限定盤＞

Since John Reis has four bands going in the early innings of 2022 -- Rocket from the Crypt, Hot Snakes, the Night Marchers, and PLOSIVS -- as well as occasionally producing other acts and sitting in with Me First and the Gimme Gimmes every once in a while, its hard to say why he felt the need (or could find the time) to cut a solo album. Reis doesnt offer a specific answer to this question on 2022s Ride the Wild Night, though judging from the music, it boils down to him being a guy who loves rock & roll and believes you cannot have too much of it in your life. And with these ten songs as Exhibit A, only a fool would suggest hes wrong. Ride the Wild Night is hardly a radical departure from Reis usual work, though it does show off some pop accents that one might not expect, especially the acoustic guitars and piano on "Days of Auld Lang Syne" and the title cut, the retro synth bassline on "I Hate My Neighbors in the Yellow House," and the hip-shaking boogie of "Rip from the Bone." But the heart of this LP is founded, now as always, in tough electric guitars and the grainy wail of Reis voice, and even on the most measured cuts, this music stomps hard and with brawny authority. This is the soundtrack to a wild party where the stereo is on full blast, things will get broken, and the neighbors will complain. And who doesnt want that sort of a Friday night every once in a while? The craft on Ride the Wild Night is strong without spoiling the spontaneous spirit of the performances, and Reiss accompanists (including his Hot Snakes bandmates Gar Wood and J. Sinclair and Jordan Clark of PLOSIVS) give him all the fire and punch he needs. Ride the Wild Night isnt a great album from Reis stable of musical projects, but its a really good one, and it will make 30 minutes of your life significantly more exciting and enjoyable, and if thats not a good enough reason to listen to an album, what is? ~ Mark Deming