reigning sound - time bomb high school/too much guitar

Reigning Sound
Time Bomb High School
2002
In The Red
[garage rock, alt country, indie rock]

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I don't normally listen to "garage revival", but this band somehow managed to escape the superficial retro trend thing and just write solid, smart and honest pop songs. There is a distinct country vibe to some of the songs, especially the slower ones. Just a very fine album all in all. Also, very good vocals. They fit the music well.



Reigning Sound
Too Much Guitar
2004
In The Red
[garage rock, garage punk]

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First of all, this is not as good as Time Bomb High School. The cover art is far superior. The sound is more distinct. It rocks a whole lot more (plenty of guitar, hence the title). But the songs aren't as good. Simple as that, basically. Also they seem to have done something with the vocals. which now sound a bit too much like that twat from The Strokes. This is a good album, but I'm still waiting for it to click properly. I still suspect that there's something here that I haven't fully discovered yet.