Another Day Another John Reis album. This guy has hit a purple patch and is churning out records like they’re going out of fashion, but he always has his finger on the pulse. Be it Plosives, solo, Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu or Rocket From The Crypt, the guy knows how to write pretty damn awesome records.

This is his fifth solo album – featuring members of Hot Snakes, Delta 72, Drive Like Jehu, Jejune, Pinback, PLOSIVS and more (If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it). Navajo White is a colour. It’s the colour of off-white interior house paint. Throughout his teens into adulthood, John Reis was as a house painter by trade. So it makes sense to call the album after a shade of colour. Stick to what you know and Reis obviously knows paint and rock n roll.

This is the fifth Swami John Reis album and features Jason Kourkounis (Hot Snakes, Delta 72, Night Marchers) on drums as well as contributions from Rick Froberg (Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu, Obits) on guitar, Gar Wood (Hot Snakes, Tanner, Night Marchers) on bass, Joe Guevara (Jejune, Swami and the Bed Of Nails) on piano and keyboards and Rob Crow (Pinback, PLOSIVS) and Jacob Turnbloom (Mrs. Magician) on backing vocals. So it is his comfortable crew who don the rock n roll overalls and start spraying the familiar tones around the studio.

‘Its Not Fair’ kicks off proceedings with a sprightly tempo washing over the canvas with a melodic pop tune and melody building to a chorus via some smart backbeat and chiming guitars. It’s like a ray of sunshine in a dark world. Let it wash over you and turn it up you’ll be singing along in no time at all.

It’s eight songs in under half an hour, with the MO of writing awesome melodies and wrapping them in layers of alternative punk rock n pop. Hey presto, it’s not rocket science Reis has been doing this shit for his whole musical career to varying degrees, but his solo records are so strong. ‘Future Moods’ is more of the same with a dark edge like a Twin Peaks outro tune. Threatening to break out big time but always showing restraint, it’s a thin line to tread, but Reis knows this line like the back of his hand. Whereas the new Afghan Whigs are one morose tempo and don’t break out of the shackles Dulli puts on the band, Reis isn’t bothered by such likes he does wherever the melody takes him. He does the last knockings of summer late-night tunes like ‘From Here On Out’ superbly, and boy, he carries the melody as well and he does the older, more mature punk rocker tunes as well, as he easily goes through the gears.

‘Lies Don’t Lie’ sounds like something the Saints would have penned and shows how good a songwriter he is, Hell, The album closes with a song that reminds me of mid period Bailey Saints and all power to Reis for it, and it’s fair to say we’re lucky to have him as something of a constant making and releasing such great records with the minimum of fanfare and commercial pats on the back, which is where we come in. Buy this record it will brighten your days and make you fall in love with guitar alternative rock n roll again if you ever walked away from the fight, and if you’re still in the fight, then you know what to do. Buy or steal this record its a banger, or as the kids would say – pure fire.

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Author: Dom Daley