REVIEW: Reggie and the Full Effect – ‘No Country For Old Musicians’

November 27th, 2013

Matthew Leimkuehler

Artist: Reggie and the Full Effect
Album: No Country For Old Musicians
Label: Pure Noise Records
Genre: Alternative

Reggie and the Full Effect return for the first time in five years with No Country For Old Musicians, a quirky and apathetic collection of songs proving to be some of the best seen from the James Dewees (The Get Up Kids, My Chemical Romance) project. Reggie returns with the proper doses of cynicism and snark in No Country For Old Musicians, making it an entertaining and worthwhile listen. The record has moments of ups and downs and twists and turns, all while successfully delving into the alternatively strange with the utmost positive effect.

The record opens with the absurdly country western “Introduction,” before a transition into “Super Croc vs Mega Doosh,” a song that comes with a huge sigh of relief. “Super Croc” is aggressive and catchy, a true stand-out track. The choruses create a bouncy sing-along and the verses make you want to snarl with passive rage. It is a track that affirms James Dewees is as relevant as ever. The record continues with playful and diverse numbers, such as “37,” “Gimme Back My Leg,” and “Robo Fonzie Meets Frank.” These songs all contain elements fans of Reggie are familiar with, and are not without clever entities. “37” is arguably the goofiest and most addictive track of the season (see Bruno Mars references).

The last record produced by Ed Rose, these 17-tracks continue to set a pace of creativity with “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Ralph’s,” a song most like the Reggie and the Full Effect of old. “A Funny Thing…” is the type of song ready to send you into a time warp, back to all of the great Reggie releases from the early and mid ’00s. It reminds us why we had to wait five years for a new Reggie record, an overall complete and fascinating song.

As No Country For Old Musicians comes to a close, “Disregard,” a confessional ballad, comes in as a song wielding massive amounts of emotion. It is as though Dewees has created an emo-techno waltz, proving to be the record’s most powerful moment. Overall, No Country For Old Musicians is a record good enough to make old fans beam with excitement of new music and make some new fans out of non-believers. This record simply has a little something for everyone.

SCORE: 8/10

Review written by: Matthew Leimkuehler (@callinghomematt)