Reverb

ReverbWhat's The Story? Swirl compiles the entire discography of fantastic mid-90s British psych/pop act Reverb, including singles, compilation cuts, and the limited-edition vinyl-only album Time-Lapse. Formed in Cheltenham in 1993, the trio consisting of Ant Walker (guitar/vocals), Dave Battersby (bass), and Ben Godding (drums) were championed by legendary Echo and The Bunnymen guitarist Will Sergeant, who produced and even played on some of the bands recordings. Reverbs explosive blend of moody yet melodic guitar pop was an intoxicating mix of classic Bowie, The Undertones, Love, The Seeds, The Chills, Neu!, Adorable, and, last but not least, The Bunnymen. Sadly, the group was unable to penetrate the mainstream despite garnering airplay from famed BBC DJs John Peel and Steve Lamacq and having several singles reach the Top-15 of the UK indie chart (Melting Into You peaked at ..5). A cult favorite on the London live circuit, Reverb bowed out on a high note in 1997, their last gig being an electrifying performance at the CMJ Festival in New York City. Walker and Battersby would go on to form acclaimed instrumental space rock group The Land of Nod.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++UK 3 piece Reverb released a whole host of releases in the mid 1990s and were hailed as the new underground kings on the indie-psych-pop scene! Their first 7 release Pedal was backed by the garage rocker Swirl and was the first release on the legendary UK label Ochre Records being hailed by the likes of Ptolemaic Terrascope. Follow up releases on Badlands Records saw the groups first indie chart success! Straight in at No 5 in November 95 with the Double A-side 7 Melting Into You / Down Tonight. Spiritualized could only enter at No 7 that week whilst Wonderwall from Oasis topped the chart as a new entry. Reverb were amongst good names! In fact along with Oasis, Saint Etienne, Drugstore and Echobelly were the others who occupied those top four slots! The follow up 7 Velocity Fall produced by Echo and the Bunnymen lead guitarist Will Sergeant made number 13. DJs John Peel and Steve Lamacq became supportive to the band airing the records on BBC Radio One. The association with Will Sergeant continued as the group headed back to Liverpool to record the Mesmorized CD single with Sergeant contributing keyboards! The bands influences were easy to see, mixing classic Bowie with The Undertones, Love, The Seeds, The Chills, Neu! and of couse, The Bunnymen. The group began gaining a cult following on the live circuit not only in their home town of Cheltenham but in London as well. Reverb had surfaced out of the ashes of the legendary The Lucid Dream but it was Lucids vocalist Dave Bats Battersby who decided to move back to bass with Ant Space Walker taking over vocal and guitar duties. The original classic Reverb line-up of Space Walker, Bats and drummer Ben Godding continued until May 1996 when Ben moved to London to begin work in the music industry and was replaced by Jason Absolon. Although Absolon was not in the same league as Godding the band still managed to record some classic material! The bulk of the last recording session at The Dungeon in Chipping Norton eventually appeared on the limited vinyl album on Ochre-Europa in 1998. But in September 1997 at the CMJ Festival in New York Reverb performed their final gig supporting Sonic Booms Spectrum and The Silver Apples and went out on a high. With Barry Ward taking over behind the kit, Reverb performed a mesmerising set accompanied during the final two numbers by ex-Triffid and Bunnymen collaborator Adam Peters on Electric Cello! Soon Dave and Ant decided to focus on their recently formed project The Land of Nod and decided that instrumental music was the way forward. As for Reverb, the one thing evident about the music contained on this CD is that it has stood the test of time, several tracks sound as fresh as when first recorded! Go listen and let that music swirl around your head!Dickie Straker - November 2004