Reid Paley

Mr. Paley is the kind of guy you expect to run into somewhere in NYC's Bowery district, on a dingy stage propped up by an electric guitar and a throat-scorching bottle of something nasty at his side. Like an old punk grump who's suddenly discovered Tom Waits, Paley invites plenty of vocal comparisons to the king of the rain dogs and even tries a little of Tom's tenderness on "Dreamland." Produced by Eric Drew Feldman (Pere Ubu, PJ Harvey), Revival gets by on raw emotion and passable punkabilly cabaret that doesn't approach the menace of a Johnny Dowd, or the poetry of a Shane MacGowan. Interesting for its barroom bluster, but sadly unsatisfying in the safety of your own home.