Ike Reilly Assassination - Junkie Faithful/Sparkle in the Finish

  by Andrew Carver

published: 25 / 5 / 2008

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Chicago’s Ike Reilly Assassination put out one major label album, ‘Salesmen and Racists’, on Universal in 2001. It didn’t do much, despite some critical kudos for its charming character sketches of uncharming men and a surfeit of street smarts. Frontman Reilly and company soon found himself releasing albums through Rock Ridge - three of them since 2004 - and an album of demos and alternate versions, ‘Poison The Hit Parade', released in April 2008. Rock Ridge has seen fit to release his indie debut and its follow-up in one convenient package, and it’s an excellent way for newcomers to explore the work of an under-recognised and offbeat performer. Ike Reilly’s sound starts off with talking blues, segues into punchy power pop and tip-toes past hip hop. It’s the dream soundtrack for people who like both Bob Dylan and Cheap Trick. The songs often have a heavy rhythmic element, which has invited more than one comparison to Beck (working with Beck and Luscious Jackson knob-twiddler Mickey Petralia on his first album probably helped as well). On his sophomore album ‘Sparkle In The Finish’ Reilly and his Assassination slip easily between guitar crunch and piano ballad, sometimes in the space of one song. The album also shows Reilly’s taste for 1980's hard rock: Piercing electric guitar and electronic beats buttress ‘The Boat Song (Let’s Get Loaded)’, phased guitar riffs pump up ‘Our Lady of Arturo’. Reilly and Co. also know how to slow things down, as on the shimmering ‘St. Joe’s Band’ and the laidback ‘Ex-American.’ Reilly’s voice isn’t a marvelous instrument, but it’s an appropriate one given he has a slightly dry drawl well-suited to sarcasm and bitterness. Clear elocution is the real secret of his success since Reilly’s real gift is for sculpting short audio pictures of colourful urban life. ‘Junkie Faithful’, released in 2005, follows in the footsteps of ‘Sparkle’, with perhaps a slightly darker cast to the tunes. In addition to the two albums, the package includes a pair of B-sides from ‘Sparkle’ and two acoustic versions of ‘Junkie Faithful’ tunes. All in all, a fine way to make an introduction.

Track Listing:-

1 I Don't Want What You Got (Goin' On)
2 Holiday In New York
3 It's Alright To Die
4 Whatever Happened To The Girl In Me?
5 The Boat Song (We're Getting Loaded)
6 Garbage Day
7 Our Lady Of Arturo
8 Ballad Of The Choir Boy Band Robber
9 Waitin' For Daddy
10 St. Joe's Band
11 Ex-Americans
12 B.I.G.O.T.
13 She's So Free
14 22 Hours Of Darkness
15 The Mixture
16 God And Money
17 Kara Dean
18 Farm Girl
19 Suffer For The Trust
20 Edge Of The Universe Cafe
21 Heroin
22 What A Day
23 I Will Let You Down
24 Devil's Valentine
25 Everything Is Gonna Be Alright
26 Suffer For The Trust (acoustic)
27 Junkie Faithful (acoustic)

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