Glowing Up In Public

the sony MiniDisc ad catapulted Reef into the spotlight and explains the raucous chorus of blow you away that immediately greets any mention of their name. Cascading in on the crest of a surf-rock wave in their flip flops, they crashed into 1995 s chart consciousness with their snarling blues/rock debut album, Replenish.
It s their overpowering enthusiasm and optimism that hits me first, literally underlined by Gary writing positive all over my notebook in case I missed it. This is a band with song titles like Choose Life , Good Feeling and Summer s In Bloom . But has there been any dilution of their infectious enthusiasm for life since their first record?
Not a bit, exclaims Gary cheerfully, But I think we discovered melody. We always had energy and a rich groove. You can hear it. We were a young band really going for it. It comes across like that.
So who else to choose as producer for the second album, Glow, other than George Drakoulias, co-founder of Def Jam and famed for his work with Primal Scream and the Black Crowes? Drakoulias signature is stamped all over the new album.
It s the same stuff, reckons Jack the bass player, but having the different producer just adds a whole new tinge to it. And George is such a strong character, he s a wicked bloke. Also, we ve grown as a band, we ve learnt to write songs better. George was a wicked character and he really got the best out of each of us. It s a fat, funky sound with loads of old bass guitars.
Having recorded sessions in Sydney and in LA, the lads headed to Abbey Road but found it a bit impersonal, with orchestras coming in every day as well. In some ways it was quite good, it brings you down to earth, according to Gary. It eventually all ended up as the new album, Glow, which overflows with contagious rhythms, Screamadelic-esque tracks like Higher Vibration and the chilled-out Summer s In Bloom .
This year the band have concentrated on the album, but their reputation is firmly cemented by the consistency and raw texture of their live side. In addition to playing with the Stones, Reef were rather fortunate to have been adopted early on by Paul Weller. Immediately on hearing their tape, he invited them to join him on tour, including a three-night stint at the Albert Hall. He was just himself, enthuses Gary, he just came and sat by us, whereas the Stones were so wrapped up in the show. I m not so keen on that side.
Reef are a band willing to work they play around 130 gigs a year and they know that they have a long battle ahead.
We re very much a live band, declares Gary confidently, and they really appreciate that in the States. We played a few clubs in Seattle, the Dragonfly club and the Viper Room in LA. It was very much an industry thing, and they really liked us but we haven t done any real gigs since the first album came out there.
Reef will be touring to coincide with the launch of the album in January.
We ll really be trying to come back to Dublin, says Jack. We played here at In The City, it was totally excellent, and it was a wicked crowd. Where did we play again? The Tiffany? The Tyranny? I suggest the Tivoli.
Yeah, the Tiffany, whatever, wicked place.
The single Come Back Brighter follows up Place Your Hands and Reef release Glow on Sony/Columbia at the end of this month.