Different people deal with grief in different ways.
Swami John Reis
, the punk firebrand who founded
Rocket from the Crypt
, was a close friend of guitarist
Rick Froberg
, one of his musical partners in the band
Hot Snakes
.
Reis
was writing material in anticipation of recording a new
album when
Froberg
died unexpectedly on June 20, 2023.
was severely shaken by the news, and he turned to music to help him cope. However, while most people might have made a lot of quiet, contemplative music in response to the passing of a good friend, that wasn't what
chose to do. He didn't want to ponder death, but celebrate life, and summon the high-spirited joy that was so much of a part of the music he and
loved most. With this in mind,
formed a new band,
Swami and the Bed of Nails
, and they quickly knocked out a debut album, 2024's
All of This Awaits You
. Nothing about
should surprise anyone familiar with
' work, but the man has always been a reliable creator of high-quality, high-energy punk with a healthy portion of melody, and his gifts have in no way failed him on this LP. A frantic blend of pogo punk, uptempo pop, and garage rock snarl,
fire on all cylinders on
, with liberal quotes from songs and bands they love and enough electricity to power your Prius for a month. Here
is joined by guitarist
Mark Murino
, bassist
Tommy Kitsos
, and drummers
Jason Koukounis
and
Richard Larson
, and this band manages to sound frantic and precise, tight enough to honor the strength of the tunes and with enough swing to make this music you want to jump around to all night. These songs get over on their hooks and drama rather than any great lyrical insights, but
' words are clever and funny when they make themselves heard. If this music was created to share the thrill of having fun and celebrating the life force that drives great rock & roll, then
have succeeded admirably on their first LP. It's short, tasty, and a blast, and hopefully
is dancing to it on some other astral plain. ~ Mark Deming