Gary Reynolds and The Brides of Obscurity gave me a bit of a surprise recently. You see, the album, “Instant Happiness” arrived in my mailbox some time ago and after the first listen I thought it was pretty good. But the surprise was my return to the disc for repeated listens. Reynolds brings his Bowie-esque vocals and combines them with the heavy guitar section of his band to allow this disc to shine. Its rare these days that a band with such obvious influences can get our attention and keep it. Id be willing to bet Reynolds was a John Lennon disciple some time ago, but he wears his respect well. The standout track for me on this was On the Radio, which is actually one of the gentler sides of the album, with more keys present. But the chorus makes this song is worthy of multiple listens and other tracks like Living By Myself and Take Me to the Moon are enjoyable as well. I could have done without the food song, but who knows why artists sometimes write with thier stomachs (see Pete Yorn’s burrito song). Check out the Seattle based, Electrokitty label signed Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity.

Gary Reynolds and The Brides of Obscurity- On the radio
Gary Reynolds and The Brides of Obscurity- Elijah

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