| See You in Magic | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by The Night Marchers | |
| Released | April 22, 2008 |
| Recorded | 2007 |
| Genre | Rock, indie rock, garage rock |
| Label | Vagrant |
| Producer | John Reis |
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Billboard | (?) [2] |
See You in Magic is the debut album by the San Diego, California rock band The Night Marchers, released in 2008 by Vagrant Records and Swami Records. The Night Marchers are the latest musical project of singer/guitarist John Reis, previously of Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu, Rocket from the Crypt, the Hot Snakes, and the Sultans. Reis announced the group's formation in August 2007, after all of his previous acts had broken up by January of that year. [3] The band also includes Beehive and the Barracudas guitarist Gar Wood, CPC Gangbangs bassist Tommy Kitsos, and former Delta 72 drummer Jason Kourkounis. Wood and Kourkounis had previously recorded and performed with Reis in the Hot Snakes. The band members are credited on the album using pseudonyms that they had used in their previous acts: Reis is credited as "Speedo" (his stage name in Rocket from the Crypt), Wood as "Dner" (Beehive and the Barracudas), Kitsos as "Skitsos" (CPC Gangbangs), and Kourkounis as "Jsinclair" (Hot Snakes). [4]
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the early 1950s, and developed into a range of different styles in the 1960s and later, particularly in the United Kingdom and in the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, a style which drew heavily on the genres of blues, rhythm and blues, and from country music. Rock music also drew strongly on a number of other genres such as electric blues and folk, and incorporated influences from jazz, classical and other musical styles. Musically, rock has centered on the electric guitar, usually as part of a rock group with electric bass, drums, and one or more singers. Usually, rock is song-based music usually with a 4/4 time signature using a verse–chorus form, but the genre has become extremely diverse. Like pop music, lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political.
The Night Marchers are an alternative rock band formed in 2007 in San Diego, California. The band is composed of singer/guitarist John Reis, guitarist Gar Wood, bassist Tommy Kitsos, and drummer Jason Kourkounis. Reis, Wood, and Kourkounis had previously performed together in the Hot Snakes, while Kitsos previously performed with CPC Gangbangs. The Night Marchers' debut album See You in Magic was released in 2008 through Vagrant Records.
Vagrant Records is an American record label based in California. It was founded in 1995 by Rich Egan and Jon Cohen. The label focuses on rock, but features artists in a variety of other genres including folk, soul, electronic, and pop. It is home to artists such as The 1975, Death Spells, Eels, Bad Suns, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, CRUISR, Active Child, PJ Harvey, School of Seven Bells, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, James Vincent McMorrow, Black Joe Lewis, Wake Owl, Blitzen Trapper, and Bombay Bicycle Club. Originally, Vagrant Records was mostly focused on emo bands such as Dashboard Confessional, Saves the Day, The Get Up Kids, and Alkaline Trio.
Contents
In announcements leading up to the album, Reis described the sound of the music as an amalgamation of his previous bands and influences:
"The sound is a combonation [sic] of everything I've been a part of dating back to my prepubescent days in Pitchfork. Similar to Hot Snakes but not as sinister yet still maintaining some of the drama and subsonic boom. Akin to the rockin' fun of RFTC but without the same kind of riffery. Like the Sultans but not as straightforward yet still maintaining the sense of melody and pop of the 2nd record. Occasional nods to the Flamin' Groovies, Real Kids, Byrds, boogie rock era Status Quo, Bo Diddley, Chess Records in general, Wipers, Michael Yonkers and Shuggie Otis are evident to me." [3]
Shipwrecked is the second and final album by the San Diego, California rock and roll band Sultans, released in 2004 by Swami Records. When the band reconvened to record the album in November 2003, original guitarist Andy Stamets chose not to rejoin the group. Singer/bassist John Reis took over the guitar position and his brother Dean Reis joined the band on bass, taking the stage name "Black Velvet."
Flamin' Groovies is an American rock music band that started in San Francisco in 1965, led by Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. After the Groovies released three albums, Loney left the band in 1971. He was replaced as co-leader by Chris Wilson, and the band's emphasis shifted more toward British Invasion power pop. The band signed to United Artists Records in 1972 releasing three more singles until 1976. The Groovies then signed to Sire Records and released three albums between 1976-79, Shake Some Action, Now and Jumpin' in the Night. The album title also a single Shake Some Action became a power pop anthem and is revered by many including Greil Marcus in his book, The History of Rock and Roll in Ten Songs. Chris Wilson left the band in 1981. After a couple of limited reunions with different lineups, the 1970s nucleus of Jordan, Wilson, and Alexander reformed the group in 2013, and the band's first post-reunion album was released in 2017.
The Real Kids are an American rock band from Boston, led by guitarist, singer and songwriter John Felice.
Critical response to the album has been generally positive. Tim Sendra of Allmusic rated it 4 out of 5, calling it "Pure, hard, fun and nasty rock & roll action" and "an album of rampaging hard rock that kicks hard and sticks with you like a monster hangover." [5] Comparing the album to Reis' past musical efforts, he likens it most closely to the Sultans, saying of the music: "The guitars are taut and fierce, the drums pounding but not over-bearing, and the occasional shouted backing vocals mix well with Reis' powerful everyman vocal delivery. Reis' skill at crafting songs with hooky choruses has never deserted him and is strong as ever here." [5]
