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The Ike Reilly Assassination
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Sparkle In The Finish
Rock Ridge Music
Release: 10/12/2004
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Rated:
Review by:
Jason Warner
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The Ike Reilly Assassination is a hard group to categorize. The main focus is obviously in the singer songwriter vein, but there are some pretty heavy nods to traditional folk, some hip-hop, some noise, etc. I think I will just make it easier by stating this is just pretty much straight up rock and roll, which to me has always been kind of like a casserole, a mutt dog, or your average Caucasian person… a cobbling together of various parts, a hodge-podge, a collage. And I have to admit here that Ike Reilly and company know how to put the puzzle together pretty well.
Sparkle In The Finish is the second album from The Ike Reilly Assassination (IRA) and is chock full of catchy pop rock songs that leave you tapping your toe, boogying on the dance floor, etc. But to call this rock and roll or simple pop is an injustice. IRA puts a little more grit in many places than any radio-ready pop band would ever dare. At other times they get a lot more sensitive than most rockers would, and they manage to pull off both very convincingly. Ike Reilly has crafted some great songs here, complete with catchy riffs and very poetic lyrics. I am usually not a lyric person, but through my several listens to Sparkle In The Finish I noticed that Reilly possesses a sensibility not unlike obvious influences like Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. Some lyrics could possibly be taken as somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but they still make sense when taken seriously. It's good poetry put to rocking music. The band is a tight unit. The lyrics are great, but the music is even better. Great arrangements only serve to highlight the song writing. The production is clear without being too polished and still has enough grit to satisfy the garage rocker in me.
Standout tracks are hard to pick-out because pretty much every song could get stuck in your head for days. I particularly liked "What Ever Happened to the Girl in Me?" and "St. Joe's Band," but like I said, all the songs are great. "Waitin' for Daddy" sounds like it's being played through a transistor radio - very swinging and cool. Reilly's phrasing and voice make the songs even catchier. I daresay IRA has created one of the catchiest albums I have ever listened to. Seek it out. |
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