Reverse - Seven Inches

I first heard these guys from their split with the excellent Exit Condition. I was on a manic hunt for all the Exit Condition stuff at one point (and of course Boss Tuneage went and re-released everything) and wasn't really expecting "some other band on their split" to be that good, but they were. While Exit Condition were a little more on the melodic hardcore side, Reverse were poppier, sounding similar to bands like Mega City 4, China Drum, Hooton 3 Car and Senseless Things. And like those bands, they had a slightly bigger, slicker sound that was almost less like punk and more like straight up catchy rock.

I eventually tracked down all their 7"s, but I was stoked to find out that they were releasing a compilation of all their 7"s and demos. That release, called Glance Sideways - The Complete Reverse, is well worth your money, with 23 tracks that should have seen a wide release when they were recorded. As a fan of English melodic punk, that release was an unearthed treasure and I can still listen to the whole CD without getting bored or skipping tracks.

In 2011, SP Records out of Japan also released another CD from Reverse called Chasing Ghosts. I believe it was supposed to be released as an album in the 90's, but never saw the light of day. At 17 songs, it's also quite worth it. You can pick them both up via Interpunk in the U.S., or listen to tracks here on bandcamp.

So what I've put together here is their actual released output, only 4 7"s and a compilation track, taken from the Glance Sideways CD. The song "Clawfoot" is from the Snuffy Smiles compilation The Best Punk Rock In England, Son, which also featured bands like China Drum, Exit Condition, Pope (featuring Frankie Stubbs), Rugrat (ex Leatherface members), Guns N Wankers (ex Snuff) and Your Mum (ex Snuff). Quite a righteous compilation. Oddly, the Reverse song isn't available on either of the CDs I mentioned, so this (or the out of print compilation CD) is the only place you can get it. I've also included one other song from the Glance Sideways CD, "Jaded," because it's sooo good. My favorite song by them and one of their few (their only?) songs to feature some awesome Hammond keyboard a la Visions Of Change or Snuff.

Sample these songs and pick up the CDs if you don't have them.

Exit Condition split 7" (Vitamin Z, 1993)

   01) Not That Bad

   02) Bird Of Prey

VA - The Best Punk Rock In England, Son (Snuffy Smiles, 1994)

   03) Clawfoot

Stem The Slide 7" (Damaged Goods, 1995)

   04) Stem The Slide

   05) Filter

Lock 7"  (Damaged Goods, 1995)

   06) Lock

   07) Wrong For Me

Stagnant 7" (Damaged Goods, 1996)

   08) Stagnant

   09) Fuelled

Glance Sidways - The Complete Reverse (Damaged Goods / SP, 2009)

   10) Jaded

Reverse - Seven Inches (vbr 0)