Reef. It’s quite obvious to me that this band, borne on the shoulders of the tide of faux hysteria that was the Britpop movement in the mid nineties were past their sell by date from the final fadeout of singer Gary Stringer’s last ‘alroight now!’ bellow on some awful British TV show from 1996. Why they think we need them back in 2018 is anyone’s guess, but they’re here, and so are we, so let’s make the best of things, yes?
It’s not that easy though. Opening with a surprisingly not horrible track in the shape of Revelation, this most insidious of bands disarms you from the get go. Maybe they weren’t that bad? Maybe time has been unkind to their memory? Let’s give them a chance…
Then you’re slammed with a grotesquely twee duet with Sheryl Crow called My Sweet Love. It’s awful. It’s noxious. I never want to hear it again. Next up is Provide, which sounds like some sort of Elton John offcut, possibly written for the Lion King. Once again, there’s no need for this to be played in my presence ever again.
How I Got Over starts off promisingly, Stringer almost giving a Marriotesque vocal before the whole thing collapses into an over-indulgent gospel mess. Do I have to listen to the rest?
Strangely, whoever is in charge of things at camp Reef has decided to load the front of the album with tripe, which is a grand chance of the arm if ever there was one. Track number five (and I really do think I deserve some sort of reward for getting this far) Don’t Go Changing Your Mind is a superbly laid back slice of Bad Company-styled classic rock, whilst Precious Metal starts with some nice riffage and a Plantesque vocal. A pulsing organ gives dramatic background colour as Jesse Wood riffs pleasingly. More of this and we might, finally be in business…
Just Feel Love isn’t quite as dynamic, running okay on the goodwill generated by the two preceding tracks, but Ball and Chain is merely ordinary when something more was required. First Mistake takes the foot off the gas even more, featuring a reflective vocal and smoky harmonica. However somnolence rather than reverie is the result, the listener listlessly slipping away from the band again. It’s not bad, but we need more oomph…
Darling Be Home Soon is terrible., sounding like something Kenny Rogers might have performed on a mid-seventies US variety show; Stringer, once the possessor of a brawling slab of a voice, sounds positively polite on this, and it just doesn’t work. The broody Long Rider is much better, if only because it caused this reviewer to think of The Quireboys whilst it was on, but joking aside this is really where I’d like to see the band concentrating their efforts if we’re to see another effort in the future. Bluesy hard rock really is their forte.
Like A Ship (Without A Sail) rounds things off a little snoozily, hints of Madchester creeping in to the laidback beats and female backing vocals, whilst Stringer gives an assured if slightly perfunctory performance.
There’s enough good stuff on the second half of Revelation to suggest Reef might have a future going forward, but they’ll have to reign in their more quirky flights of fancy if they want to garner the rock audience’s support. Which they probably don’t, so maybe I’ll just call it quits here.
Leave A Comment