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Disc Review NOW MAGAIZE- NNNN
Josh Reichmann Oracle Band
Life Is Legal (Paper Bag)
By Benjamin Boles
Josh Reichmann, formerly of post-punk garage rockers Tangiers and frontman of weirded-out prog pop project Jewish Legend, is back with a new band and a new vision. This time around he's embellishing his quirky tunes with horns, flute, keys and soul influences.
Don't expect a Motown revival album, though. There are still lots of strange turns and unconventional textures, and no attempts at genuine blue-eyed soul. Instead, it has fizzy fuzz guitar tones underneath wandering woodwinds and tripped-out cosmic choruses.
The jazzy swing that permeates the recording is intriguing, and lends a certain timelessness to Reichmann's stranger tendencies, putting his sound neatly outside of contemporary trends without seeming self-consciously retro. Watch for the full album due next year.
NOW | October 15-22, 2008 | VOL 28 NO 7
EXCLAIM!
Josh Reichmann Oracle Band
Life Is Legal EP
10/9/2008 By Cam Lindsay
Toronto's Josh Reichmann has been around the block quite a few times in a relatively short career. It was only a few years ago that he fronted the Sonic Unyon-signed Tangiers, a band that crumbled just as they were making waves and breaking out of a rather stale garage rock guise. Then he went solo as a showman named Jewish Legend, releasing one album on the Baudelaire label, Telepathy Now!, before going in another direction under his name.
As Josh Reichmann Oracle Band, the rather eccentric songwriter has been reborn with an electrifying bunch of musicians (Joseph Shabason on sax/flute, Steve Singh ..boards/piano, Niko Kwiatkowski on drums/percussion, Jon Hynes on bass and Laura Bolton, a former ballet dancer with the National Ballet, on dancing) behind him and a new record deal with proven hitmakers Paperbag Records. Knowing the best way to get the word out is one that involves giving away music for free, Reichmann and his new label have made his EP, Life Is Legal, available as a free download for one week only.
The standout is "Ancient Bloody Paradise (I Miss You)." It's an enchanting, multi-layered fusion that calls on a pounding, echo-heavy rhythm, distorted keys, sleek sax, longing harmonica and fluttering guitars to form a Caribbean-like spirit for Reichmann to wax fantastic over. I picture him making slithering, Perry Farrell-type movements to this music, though it must be said that the former Jane's Addiction leader could only dream of producing something this extraordinary these days.
Let's not call this a comeback but the rebirth of a talent with plenty of creativity to burn.
EYE MAGAZINE -
When Tangiers split in 2006, singer James Sayce went to law school, while singer/guitarist Josh Reichmann began his freak-folk side project, Jewish Legend. This five-song EP, recorded with Reichmann's newest project, is a jazz-tinged alt-rock menace that confidently transgresses genres without making a fuss. A jazz flute follows reverb-drenched guitar licks on "Ancient Bloody Paradise (I Miss You)," as Reichmann insists, "I can smell the blood," like the vampire Lestat headlining the Rivoli. The percussion and folky instrumentation of "Believe In Souls" is part Simon & Garfunkel, part Madness, as a slinky ska horn line underscores Reichmann's thoughts on metempsychosis. While the erratic instrumentation might turn Tangiers' fans off, Life Is Legal revels in the thrill of exploration.
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