Shaun Davies - 8/4/2009

It was with trepidation that I put "A French Kiss in the Chaos" into my CD player. Reverend and the Makers debut album, "The State of Things", was a force of nature. Surely they couldn't pull it off again!?
The opening track (and first single), "Silence is Talking" burst from the speakers. There was that solid groove and sweeping melody that I remembered from the first album, then the main riff started! It was "Low Rider" from 70's bikers, War! I was worried, why would you use someone else's music on the first track of your new album? Then it came to me, "Because you're Reverend and the Makers"! I then laid back and let the jack-hammer rhythms, soaring chords and razor sharp lyrics wash over me....Reverend and the Makers are back!
Like the first album, there isn't a single duff track on "French Kiss" but the stand out moments for me are "No Wood Just Trees", "Mermaids" and the heart-breaking "Hard Time for Dreamers".
For the complete list there's a downloadable track on Play.com called "Skyhighatrist" and two scorchers on iTunes, ""More Than Yourself" and the blood-pumping "Bird of Prey". Both iTunes tracks have "Explicit Lyrics" warnings but, if you were THAT prudish I doubt you'd be listening to "Reverend and the Makers" anyway.
It may not be to everyone's taste (what music is?) but I recommend you give "A French Kiss in the Chaos" a test drive as soon as possible.