Catching Up On A Genius British Band

I've been raving about Reef here and on Twitter, but I hadn't properly heard the work of the whole band. It seems I was wrong, too, about Reef's stateside success; this was a huge hit on M2 and, eventually, a Buzz Clip on MTV. See what happens when you ditch MTV for public radio?

Jesse Wood kicks this one off with the kind of simple riff that sets 10,000 lighters blazing at stadium shows. It's just Wood, and Dominic Greensmith's minimalist drumming until the first verse ends, the piano kicks in, and Jack Bessant joins in with a bass line so fat and rich that it's almost a countermelody. And the NHS Choir? They don't even come in until the end of the second verse. This is a band that knows how to build excitement; I love their musicality.

And you need this kind of old, familiar music-making when the lyrics are as tender and raw as are Gary Stringer's here. Again, I'm impressed with the way this band uses contrast. This is Reef, who I still think should be all over the planet, with "Place Your Hands".