★★★★★
Ike Reilly defies any easy categorization - except that of as a very talented and original singer/songwriter. Reilly has deep country roots (he is from a small town in Illinois, USA) yet he is also thoroughly modern: he has previously worked with the Dust Brothers, for example, and has drawn comparisons to the folk/hip-hop innovator, Beck.The first album from the group Ike Reilly Assassination, Junkie Faithful, is interesting and enjoyable throughout...
- www.musicomh.com
2010-08-23
★★★★★
Struggling artist realizes he has more money than the strugglers he writes about, and writes better as a result ("Valentine's Day in Juarez," "Broken Parakeet Blues").
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
There's something downright Westerbergian about Ike Reilly. Like the erstwhile Replacements frontman, Paul Westerberg, Reilly is a roots-rocker at heart, with a raspy voice, a knack with a guitar hook and a Midwestern upbringing. Reilly may not have Westerberg's pedigree (I'll ignore W's post-'Mats work), but if Junkie Faithful is any indication, Reilly's on his way to a solid career.
The dude's also prolifichis second album, Sparkle in the Finish dropped less than a year ago. It was while...
- www.popmatters.com
2009-03-23
★★★★★
People like me are always looking for the Holy Grail: an album that just completely kicks ass, something we can love with no regrets. Sparkle in the Finish is one of those discs for me this year, except funkier and smarter and sadder than the Holy Grail ever could was.
"Enough with the pretentious crap. Tell us what the album sounds like...
- www.popmatters.com
2009-03-22
★★★★★
"I Don't Want What You Got (Goin On)", which opens the quartet's sophomore album, has the same folky, hip-hop-inflected sound that Jack Johnson peddles in his better moments. A laid-back rhythm underscores acoustic guitar and electric accents, both of which support a bouncy vocal line that's catchy enough to hum, but not quite engaging enough to learn the words to...
- www.splendidezine.com
2008-07-30