Night Marchers

With the demise of two of his best loved bands, John "Speedo” Reis returns with the Night Marchers to shake things up. The comparisons to Rocket From the Crypt and Hot Snakes were inevitable but with Gar Wood and Jason Kourkounis joining Reis, Hot Snakes fans had particular reason to expect a certain sound. Rounded out by former CPC Gangbangs member Thomas Kitsos, the Night Marchers storm into "Closed for Inventory” and "In Dead Sleep (I Snore ZZZZ)” from See You in Magic with the stomping verve of a certain sizzling reptile-named band, though there’s nothing particularly consistent about their sound. There’s exhilaration in the straight-ahead rock of "I Wanna Deadbeat You” but by "Jump in the Fire,” they’re into some folk-punk shit, falling somewhere between Social Distortion and jangly R.E.M. The RFTC old-school rock’n’soul sound is apparent but more tepid on "Who’s Lady R U,” with "And I Keep Holding On” erring on the long-ish side. The Night Marchers really are a different beast for Speedo that will surely come across better live than on the sporadically cool See You in Magic.