Search - The Reducers :: Old Cons

Happy Hour Starts Now...

Clark Paull | Murder City | 05/17/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While conventional wisdom probably dictates that NRBQ is "the world's greatest bar band" (patent pending), I'm here to make a case for New London, Connecticut's Reducers. Over five albums, 20-some years, and endless gigging, these guys have been mixing adrenalized pop, pathos, and social commentary into a cocksure roar of satisfaction that is unsullied by MTV or any A&R department's marketing plan. And in order to ensure it always remains so, it's all been done under the aegis of their own record label, a move worthy of genuflection on all of our parts. Like any bar band (and I use that term with the utmost respect) worth its salt, The Reducers obviously had to learn a few covers along the way and as demonstrated by "Old Cons," which gathers live tracks and studio outtakes, their taste is impeccable. Let's face it - any album that opens with the ragtag rabble of Wreckless Eric's "Take The Cash (K.A.S.H.)" is off to one hell of a start. Need more proof? How about reverberating, smart-alecky, and sometimes shambolic strolls through Larry Wallis' "Police Car," Chan Romero's "Hippy Hippy Shake," Nick Lowe's "That's It I Quit," "Mack The Knife," and (yes, there is a God!) a take on Tenpole Tudor's "Three Bells In A Row" that lights up the room? And if all that wasn't carelessly generous enough on their part, they even throw in joyful exercises in volume like The Inmates' "(I Thought I Heard A) Heartbeat," Wilson Pickett's "Ninety Nine And A Half (Won't Do)," and Dr. Feelgood's (Wilko Johnson-era Feelgood, the only one that matters) "Going Back Home." Don't come here looking for slick surfaces, an audiophile experience, or any answers to the questions of the universe. The Reducers are avatars of amateurish enthusiasm and garage band grunt and, on the surface, appear to have all the brains of a bag of hammers. But don't be fooled. A quick listen to any of their four studio albums will put any of those notions to rest. These Yanks are dazzlingly accomplished at what they do, as if that weren't immediately apparent by their choise of footwear, the Converse Chuck Taylor All Star. There's a party going on within these grooves and you don't have to look very hard to find it. Get your wallet out..."