Swami John Reis – “I Ain’t Your Pawn”

No matter where you know the inimitable John Reis — Hot Snakes, Rocket From The Crypt, Drive Like Jehu — there’s no mistaking that low slung guitar and 40 grit rasp. Reis steps out for his solo debut under the Swami John Reis moniker and it burns through a lot of familiar punk pound. Though the name was last surfaced for a surf album with The Blind Shake, here Reis is tied down tight, letting the sound filter of of the speakers for something a bit more in line with his more famous fodder. “I Ain’t Your Pawn” bursts into view with a piano played knuckle-deep before the guitars assault from all sides. While he incorporates some more disparate elements later on in the album, what marks it best is the insistent pace, and there’s nowhere on the album that its more apparent than “I Ain’t Your Pawn.” Ride the Wild Night is out now on Swami Records.