Plenty of great artists have needed a patron at one time or another, and never let it be said
Greg Cartwright
is not a great artist. While being the leader, vocalist, and songwriter with the fiery garage-soul combo
Reigning Sound
may have brought
Cartwright
plenty of respect, it wasn't exactly making him rich. So when the folks who make Scion automobiles offered to bankroll a
album that they would give away as part of a marketing effort,
said why not, and
Abdicationâ?¦ For Your Love
received a limited release through Scion in late 2011. In 2019,
Merge Records
brought out a more widely available version of
Abdication
that included the original eight songs as well as a ninth, "What Did I Tell You," that was added as a bonus. For
,
and his bandmates (
Dave Amels
on keyboards,
Mike Catanese
on guitar,
Benjamin Trokan
on bass, and
Mikey Post
on drums) got to work with a big-shot producer for the first time, in this case
Dan Auerbach
of
the Black Keys
, who was at the helm for five of the songs. The tracks with
Auerbach
sound considerably more polished than anything
had released up to that time, but if he imposed a higher level of studio craft on the band, he's also simpatico, bumping up the soulful accents in the melodies, giving
Amels
' keyboards room to shine, and providing
Post
with a drum sound to die for.
never left any doubt that they could kick out the jams, but tracks like "Everything I Do Is Wrong," "Call Me #1," and "Eve" instead reveal a smoky passion that lets
's vocals reveal some nuance that his rave ups would roll right over. For anyone who wanted more rock action from this group, the remaining numbers produced by
deliver the goods, and "Watching My Baby" and "Lyin' Girl" are the sound of a great band drawing sweat. Clocking in at a mere 25 minutes,
isn't exactly the Great Lost
Album, but it documents an outstanding band in fine form, and it's welcome news that fans won't have to keep scouring secondhand markets to add this to their collection. ~ Mark Deming