Album Review: Reef - "Shoot Me Your Ace"

 

I have to be honest, I wasn't what you'd call a particularly big fan of Reef back in the day despite their status as one of the most successful Britrock bands of the mid-'90s. To me, with every wave of Britrock it always seemed that there was one band who were just a bit too no-frills for their own good and lacked the whole showmanship/willingness to think outside the box that their better contemporaries had in favour of "keep it real man!" trad dullness and, as Thunder were to the Quireboys/Dogs D'Amour wave around the start of the decade so Reef were to the Wildhearts/Terrorvision/Therapy? driven mid-'90s variant. The fact that last time I saw them a few years ago on the infamous Britrock Must Be Destroyed tour with the Wildhearts and Terrorvision, where they were placed as the headlining band only for about half the audience to have headed for the exit door by the time they took the stage, probably didn't help matters either to be honest.

However, I have to say that Shoot Me Your Ace was actually a bit of a pleasant surprise. Yes, it's still the unashamedly trad rock take you'd expect on Britrock from Reef and Gary Stringer's laryngitis inducing roar of a voice is as much of a Marmite affair as ever but at least on this occasion they're doing it well - tracks like Refugee, I See Your Face and Best Of Me at least pack enough energy and strut to give the impression that this is a band enjoying themselves (I could be wrong but it even sounds like they're gently poking fun at their public image on Wolfman showing an all too rare sense of humour for bands like this). Particularly notable is the guitar interplay between the band's two new boys, Jesse Wood (son of Ronnie) and ex-Duran Duran/Power Station man Andy Taylor (now there's an odd mix for you! Definitely works though) which gives these songs an extra layer and adds to their appeal. At the other end of the scale, Right On definitely shows off the group's ear for a melody as well.

If we really must have trad rock in the musical scheme of things (and I fear we must) then at least let it be albums like this where the band at least sound like they're having a blast doing what they do and cutting loose a bit rather than engaging in some tedious Led Zep box-ticking exercise. The likes of Greta Van Fleet could definitely learn a few lessons from Shoot Me Your Ace put it that way.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑🌑 (7/10)

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