{"title":"Reigning Sound","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReigning Sound is an American garage punk band that was originally based out of Memphis, Tennessee and is now located in Asheville, North Carolina. Known for their raw and energetic sound, they have gained a loyal following over the years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn June 2022, the band announced that they were splitting up, marking the end of an era for their fans. Despite this news, Reigning Sound's impact on the music scene will not be forgotten.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you enjoy *The Dirtbombs*, *The Gories*, or *Oblivians*, then Reigning Sound's music is sure to resonate with you. Their unique blend of garage rock and punk influences sets them apart from other bands in the genre.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"memphis-in-june","title":"Memphis In June","description":"\u003cp\u003eReigning Sound’s \u003ci\u003eMemphis in June\u003c\/i\u003e is a document of Greg Cartwright and the original Memphis lineup of his garage\/soul group in the pocket and on their home turf. Live from the Harbor Town Amphitheater, right on the river, they forcefully knock out a dozen songs across the band’s catalog with their friends, many of whom appeared on 2021’s \u003ci\u003eA Little More Time with Reigning Sound.\u003c\/i\u003e The live album is pressed on neon orange vinyl, exclusively for Record Store Day 2022.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Merge Records","offers":[{"title":"Orange | LP","offer_id":50416010363211,"sku":"1145227","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/64ae4a38-80db-4055-8060-916c4cdfb57e_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726694678"},{"product_id":"a-little-more-time-with-reigning-sound","title":"A Little More Time with Reigning Sound","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Little More Time\u003c\/i\u003e, Reigning Sound’s seventh proper full-length, is the original lineup’s first in-studio collaboration since 2005’s \u003ci\u003eHome for Orphans\u003c\/i\u003e LP, which Merge reissued last year. Ultimately, that 2020 reissue laid the groundwork for the outfit’s reunification. Cartwright explains, “When Merge reissued Home for Orphans, we booked a little string of shows with the original lineup. We still love to get together and play every couple years.” The short reunion tour wrapped just as pandemic hit the United States. Soon after, Cartwright found himself with a batch of new songs. With Reigning Sound’s current lineup based in New York City, then a COVID-19 hotspot, Cartwright made the decision to produce the new record back in Memphis—though he did regret not being able to work with the players behind 2014’s Daptone-recorded Shattered. “It was not something I anticipated, making a record with the original lineup again,” Cartwright says. “Mainly, because I had guys I was playing with, and we had an established dynamic that was working.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn addition to working with old bandmates, Cartwright enlisted acclaimed producer Scott Bomar (Al Green, William Bell) at Electraphonic Recording, to produce in downtown Memphis. “Scott was in a band called Impala for many years,” Cartwright recalls. “And he also played bass with me and Jack [Yarber] on the Compulsive Gamblers’ Bluff City album. He has the machine I like to record on, a Scully one-inch 8-track. I’ve worked on one-inch 8-tracks for the last four records, and I’m kind of addicted.” While having 24 tracks offers up more capability for overdubs, Cartwright prefers the limitations of 8-tracks. “It’s super helpful when you get to the mixing process and your head isn’t still going, ‘What should I add?’ It helps streamline the process, and it helps so I can focus on what’s there instead of what’s not. Then I can just work on the sound.” For the new LP, Cartwright employed a string section, an additional percussionist, and a pedal steel player on some of the tracks. Beyond that, Coco Hames (The Ettes, Parting Gifts) sings co-lead vocals on “Just Say When.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Let’s Do It Again,” the album’s boisterous opener, captures the mundaneness and yearning that isolation creates, but with Reigning Sound’s signature foot-stomping rock ’n’ roll. It’s also delivered with optimism and a desire to reconnect with people. Elsewhere, on tracks like “I’ll Be Your Man,” the LP decelerates and shifts into moody ballad territory. Rounding out \u003ci\u003eA Little More Time \u003c\/i\u003eis a raucous cover of Adam Faith’s “I Don’t Need That Kind of Lovin’.” The 1965 single is a longtime staple at Reigning Sound shows, but this is its first appearance on record.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“When I write songs, it’s the melody I write first. The melody dictates what the mood is whether it’s about being happy, confused, sad, lonely… The melody speaks to a feeling. From there, my job is to translate that feeling into words. I try not to be too structured in how I think about that because the more ambiguous it is, the more people can read their own story into what you’re saying, and I think that’s important. On some level, I consciously don’t want to know what a song is about.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAmbiguities aside, the LP closes with the poignant “On and On,” a song that reminds us that despite all of the highs and lows we face, “love is still a choice… love is the only choice.” It offers a glimmer of light. These days, that’s not a bad note to end on.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Merge Records","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50417741693259,"sku":"1115677","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Pink | LP","offer_id":50417742184779,"sku":"1115678","price":23.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50417741463883,"sku":"1115676","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/488c2472-77cd-41ad-b65f-127bbad63b36_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726736127"},{"product_id":"live-at-goner-records","title":"Live At Goner Records","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt all happened on a rainy afternoon in June, 2005, at the Goner Shop. Following a sweaty Saturday night gig at Memphis' favorite dive bar, The Buccaneer, Reigning Sound sets up in front of a roomful of hungover heathens and blazes through fifteen-and-a-half pounders, including covers of The Sham's 'Black Sheep,' The Swingin' Yo-Yo's' 'Do Something,' and of course, Carl Perkins ' 'Tennessee.' Scream with shock and delight as Greg Cartwright gets electrocuted during a Compulsive Gamblers song! Originally released as a limited-edition CDR to raise funds for Katrina victims in late '05, and nationally on vinyl the next year, the LP has been out of print for over half a decade. This new pressing includes a complimentary digital download. It's a document of an amazing band and an amazing show, in glorious full fidelity.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Goner","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50479441543499,"sku":"374322","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/44dc99e9-44ca-4ae9-af32-d705fc3892c5_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727509325"},{"product_id":"shattered","title":"Shattered","description":"\u003cp\u003e'Shattered' will be Reigning Sound's first album for Merge and the first full LP by the group since 2009's 'Love and Curses'. The band's principal songwriter\/member is Greg Cartwright, who's been leading the shifting cast of characters since 2001. You may be familiar with some of the band's work, as this album is preceded by five studio efforts as well as numerous EPs and live records. Or perhaps some of Greg's other projects have been on your musical radar: The Oblivians, Parting Gifts, Compulsive Gamblers, 68 Comeback, Deadly Snakes, Detroit Cobras. Regardless, as far as Reigning Sound is concerned, this is as good a place to start as any because through many line-up changes and mood swings, the central, constant feature is the way Greg writes songs. This particular embodiment of the band includes longtime keyboardist Dave Amels, who joined the band seven years ago when Reigning Sound recorded an album, consisting mostly of Cartwright's songs, with former Shangri-Las lead singer Mary Weiss.LP with Download.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50492722315595,"sku":"377532","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/f194695d-6b71-40d6-859c-3cf6f6643ba6_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727693102"},{"product_id":"abdication-for-your-love","title":"Abdication... For Your Love","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhen he was approached by Scion in 2011 to make an album for the music promotion arm of the car company, Reigning Sound frontman Greg Cartwright found himself unable to refuse—despite his band’s tenuous existence at the time. “Several line-up changes had ensued after the original Memphis quartet disbanded, and I found myself considering the possibility of shedding the Reigning Sound moniker,” muses Cartwright. “I had decided to take a break to work on production for other people and write songs for The Parting Gifts, my upcoming collaboration with Coco Hames.” But now, Reigning Sound had an offer on the table, and there was no band. Besides Cartwright, the one constant of Reigning Sound’s previous three years was keyboardist Dave Amels, who was moonlighting in The Jay Vons, the Brooklyn soul combo formed by Long Island natives Michael Catanese, Benny Trokan, and Mikey Post. Sometimes Amels would even pull double duty at gigs where Reigning Sound and The Jay Vons shared a bill. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen The Parting Gifts released their outstanding album Strychnine Dandelion in 2010, The Jay Vons opened shows for them on a brief tour. A few months later, Scion came knocking. Around the same time, Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, who provided guitar for the Parting Gifts record, had just moved to Nashville and was busy putting the final touches on a private studio. “Dan was eager to do some work in the new studio in preparation for an upcoming session with Dr. John, and he offered us some studio time as well as his production assistance. Tentative arrangements with Nashville players evaporated one after another due to prior engagements or last-minute snafus. “There I was, twiddling my thumbs in a Nashville studio, the clock ticking, with no band. On a long shot, I phoned Brooklyn and made a Hail Mary pass to The Jay Vons—and they said yes. I called Scion and asked for three plane tickets and hotel rooms, and in a matter of hours, the band were on their way to Nashville. In two days, we cut five songs. I paired these five with three outtakes from the previous Reigning Sound LP \u003ci\u003eLove and Curses\u003c\/i\u003e which featured Lance Wille on drums and Dave Gay on bass,” recounts Cartwright, adding, “The Greg and Jay Vons line-up of Reigning Sound continues to this day.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Merge Records","offers":[{"title":"Red | LP","offer_id":50498238185803,"sku":"1060946","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/8132904c-c996-4cc4-b3cf-d5726dbfe792_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727742317"},{"product_id":"time-bomb-high-school","title":"Time Bomb High School","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBack in 2002, Reigning Sound unleashed \u003cem\u003eTime Bomb High School,\u003c\/em\u003e an earth-scorching platter of rock and roll that conquered the hearts and ears of everyone from Little Steven Van Zandt to The Hives' Howlin' Pelle Almqvist. Time Bomb High School has since become a cratedigger's grail, out of print on vinyl since its initial release. Now those seekers have reason to rejoice: \u003cem\u003eTime Bomb High School\u003c\/em\u003e is returning to vinyl; remastered and featuring new cover art by Greg Cartwright. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHailed as \"a truly unimpeachable rock'n'roll-soul classic\" by The Guardian, Time Bomb High School was a breakthrough for the Memphis-based quartet of Cartwright (vocals, guitar), Jeremy Scott (bass, backing vocals), Greg Roberson (drums), and Alex Greene (organ, guitar, backing vocals). The songs — Cartwright's originals and covers like \"Stormy Weather\" and \"I'd Much Rather Be With the Boys\" alike — are as alive as ever, but the heart of this edition of \u003cem\u003eTime Bomb High School \u003c\/em\u003elies in its sequencing, which was kept true to the 2002 first pressing. The Side 1 features mid-tempo ballads, and love songs. Side 2 is all rockers. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe album opens with four of Reigning Sound's most vulnerable yearners before breaking out into a rendition of Memphis hometown heroes The Guilloteens \"I Don't Believe.\" From this, an almost entirely new album emerges. The band's swagger and bravado remains intact, but the album feels more earnest and open-hearted, like they've put down their guard to really let the listener in, its ravers feeling like shelter from the storm. There's no wrong way to listen to \u003cem\u003eTime Bomb High School,\u003c\/em\u003e but this is its definitive form: a classic that's ready for rediscovery, as vital to the rock canon as the dusty 45s that inspired Reigning Sound.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Merge Records","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":57521449173323,"sku":"R0187-1612","price":26.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/597014.jpg?v=1780744853"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_5f2b0406_thumbnail_4096_ec2aa1a5-85c4-45fb-9b49-80de3a66ceb1.jpg?v=1726033031","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/reigning-sound.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}