Graveyard Lovers

The key line on Graveyard Lovers’ fantastic first full length release comes early in the opening song “Manifesto”, when lead singer Zach Reynolds let’s you in on his one line credo, “Don’t let nothing ever get you low.” This is uplifting, heavy hitting, rock and roll.

Dreamers, however, is no digital ray of sunshine, there is an eerie Louisiana bayou-at-dusk vibe that floats in an out adding texture, drama and layers to the group’s sound. The harmonica-laced title track is a good example, gloriously staying positive while never slipping into pop. Honest heartfelt lyrics, textured production and gutsy playing save the rocking day.

The stomping power of “Love and Hunger” shows off Tricia Purvis’s heavy drumming while “You and Me” swirls chimes, guitars, yearning vocals and a plinking piano to create a hopeful final product. The blues get proper attention on the slinky “Blessed Are the Ties That Bind” which dips into the swamp only to come roaring out bigger and badder playing as an album highlight. “Piedmont Blues” continues that vibe even expanding the palette with multiple layers of eastern tinged instrumentation.

Besides the fast tempo of “Nameless” most of these songs take their time, running north of the four and half minute mark. Some editing could tighten up ideas and overall flow, but the group has worked hard to create a tone that delivers their sound and style winningly. Ending with the arena ready “Working For the Company” Graveyard Lovers explore big crescendos and echoey vocals both near and far. The band has nailed it with Dreamers – touching on multiple dimensions of rock and roll while staying intriguing and raw.
- Glide Magazine

“They call us dreamers,” yowls Zach Reynolds over a swinging party of fierce guitars and a rousing harmonica on the title track off the band’s latest album. Though something of a veteran of CMJ, this year Graveyard Lovers returns doubled in size. Along with original members Reynolds and drummer Tricia Purvis, now bassist Orion Wainter and guitarist Joel Reynolds play along, giving the already red-blooded rockers a fuller, more expansive sound (while still retaining the band’s original grit and gut). “Dreamers” shows incredible range, from the sexy, foot stomping “Lover and Hunger” to the haunting, understated “The Island,” which floats as pure poetry towards the conclusion of the album. Graveyard Lovers doesn’t disappoint because they strive to have it all: an impenetrable bluesy core with garage rock details, set beneath soulful compositions that fly forward while nodding back at some of the greats (think: the Black Keys, the White Stripes) who have come before them. - Blouin Artinfo (International Edition)

Graveyard Lover’s new album Dreamers shows a band where the seeds of greatness have sprouted into a vibrant and mighty tree that reaches to the heavens. Rooted in modern alt-rock the three members intertwine into a trunk of incredible solidity from which delicate, intricate and extreme musical phrases spring forth. It’s the balance between power and detail that makes Graveyard Lovers the band it is, creating a massive, sturdy foundation, then spiraling off ideas and emotions in higher and higher levels of development.

There is as much to experience in their music as you can find within yourself. Graveyard Lovers put a mirror to our modern era and stares deeply. Bringing a somewhat regional sound out of their NYC home base you can feel a Springsteen vibe at one minute, then Manchester, then 80’s Los Angeles all funked out with a southern sweat. There is a confidence and an authenticity to their presence that speaks of several years performing and touring together. Dreamers is their first full-length release and it’s just plain lethal from beginning to end.

Comprised of guitarist/singer Zach Reynolds, drummer Tricia Purvis and bassist Orion Wainer, this is a power trio that has the patience to slow it down, then the reserves of energy to smash everything in sight. It’s a barely controlled musical riot protesting, rebelling and redefining what it means to deliver authentic rock and roll. Deftly produced by Will Benoit, the whole album sounds great, with the technical framework suiting the artists just perfectly.

Graveyard Lovers new album Dreamers puts them squarely on the map. It’s a really awesome rock record with a fresh signature band sound. Taking familiar tones into new iterations, this collection of musical statements will surely stand the test of time because of the impregnable solidity of the band members. They’re like a young boxing contender stepping into the ring with nimble footwork and devastating punches. Very Highly Recommended. - RUSTzine.com

Big, loud primal guitar, bass, and drums from this Brooklyn-based trio. And rather catchy, too, in that big loud primal rock and roll kind of way. Throwback, non-pretentious music. Naval gazing wankers need not apply! Head and long hair whipping mandatory. I'm dizzy and giddy. For fans of The Black Keys and White Stripes. - Huffington Post - Dusty Wright

"There’s a lot of grit on the latest release from Graveyard Lovers. The Brooklyn trio isn’t afraid to turn up the volume or shred their vocal chords. The band’s dynamics only add to the tension as well. The soft moments are almost too quiet, while the noisier ones beg to be played out on an open car stereo.

Throughout Dreamers, Graveyard Lovers venture from grunge to blues and back again. The opening chords of “From My Window” sound like a My Morning Jacket song if Jim James had decided take a walk through a dark forest. ”Love and Hunger” alternates between heavy riffs and melodic breaks. “You and Me” seems to conjure up ghosts of the Delta with its sparse chords and singer Zack Reynold’s tortured vocals.

Dreamers is the kind of album that makes you believe that rock and roll and American music still matter and are still a force to be reckoned with. For kids in the 70's it was the Stones who embodied the blues in rock and roll. A decade ago it was the White Stripes. For the 2010's it could very well be Graveyard Lovers." - Leading Us Absurd - Matt Satterfield

"A hugely promising debut from a dynamic trio carrying the torch of Pixies, Stripes, Sonic Youth & your favorite indie-grit gods".

For their debut LP, Brooklyn’s Graveyard Lovers have grabbed the spirit of rock ‘n roll by the throat and channeled a barrage of gritty, heavy blues riffs through a groove-rich spectrum inhabited by the likes of Jack White and Band of Skulls. Comprised of Zach Reynolds (guitar, vocals), Tricia Purvis (drums), and Orion Wainer (bass), the three intertwine immersive, dark melodies and passionate garage-blast promise on the new album Dreamers – and CraveOnline is proud to exclusively premiere the full album ahead of its Sept. 17 release.

"Graveyard Lovers explore a dynamic spectrum with refreshing vigor on Dreamers, an evolution from their 2011 self-titled EP debut. Recorded at Will Benoit’s Radar Studios, the release is a new voice among familiar styles, a torch carried without the pressure of legacy – yet. When the slow build of "From My Window" finally bursts, it's as if the best parts of the Saddle Creek family spent a Summer with the Pixies and burned their White Stripes records in a distancing ritual that only deepened the connection to some of the most viscerally passionate sounds of our time. "Nameless" is an impossibly catchy indie-scuzz jam that begs for volume." - Crave Online: Johnny Firecloud

One of the things I love most about this blogging thing is the increased random chance of stumbling across great bands. I love the random PR company emails I get on a daily basis, most are junk, but on rare occasion you’ll get turned on to something really good.
That’s how I came across Graveyard Lovers and had the chance to check out their upcoming debut album, Dreamers. The album as a whole is way more polished and mainstream oriented than I usually prefer, but impulsively I can’t help but like it. It’s got the emotional pull and abstractness characteristic of all great albums that frees it from the details of genre, mainstream knowledge, or artist.
Graveyard Lovers coin themselves typically as a “blues-based indie rock trio comprised of guitarist/singer Zach Reynolds, drummer Tricia Purvis and bassist Orion Wainer”. Lead singer Zach Reynolds hails from Louisiana and his southern blues charm is definitely tangible on the album. However, Reynolds’ background is highly, maybe perfectly, balanced with Tricia Purvis’s New York City rock repertoire of influence.
Dreamers doesn’t feel old school bluesy and it doesn’t sound like a Black Keys album either with a lot of extended “bow-bow-bow” boogie bass line [or drum lines, in the Black Keys case] heavy instrumental interludes. Bluesy elements are constrained to guitar riff hooks and lyrics presented in short form mainstream arrangements. Reynolds has a savory voice, a rough indie sort like Conner Oberst in the early Bright Eyes days with gravel in his throat or an indie version of Tom Petty [which ties in the southern rock thing a little better].
Dreamers floats between power rock and melancholy ballads. The album opener Manifesto, splits the dice as noisy hard rocking ballad about sticking up for your personal independence. Love and Hunger is a pure power rock song on the theme of the iconic two lost and lowly soles in love fighting to make a life in a hard world. See if you can’t help but chant the “Love and Hunger” vocal hook by the end of the song.
The title track of the album, Dreamers [which sadly doesn’t have a preview anywhere online] wraps up the diversity on this album that together, the first three songs present. Reynolds looses much of the gravel in this song and delivers a smooth modern rock song with a harmonica melody that adds that bit of southern warmth and charm. The album hits one of two of it’s softest points on From My Window, a song about disparity in the world. Gone Too Far delightfully brings back that harmonica to add a bit of extra drama to the story line of a drifting mess up.
Blessed Are The Ties That Bind most reflects Reynolds bluesy background with searing guitar riffs and hard drum breaks in a sexy romp. The album quickly transitions back to a modern rock format however, keeping only a bluesy guitar riff hook in When I Get Mine. Piedmont Blues is an airy grandiose song with a worldly feel that takes the liberty to include some solo guitar jams. It also keeps a steady driving rhythm that maintains the draw through out its entire 6 minutes, making it by far the longest song on the album.
After all this excitement, we reset back to the second soft ballad on the album, The Island that uniquely features a simple keys based melody. Nameless is another power rock song that harkens the style of Love and Hunger is faster punk rock based rhythm. You And Me, a well composed love song, consistently floats by in the slower ballad style found on this album and dumps us out into the closing song Working For The Company that also quells us rather than stirs us up again.
I get the haunting feeling Graveyard Lovers might be another band produced by the industry or at least adopted by it and not created from the “struggle” necessarily, but maybe that doesn’t always matter. A good album is a good album and this one is definitely solid rock that doesn’t sound much like anything else in the mainstream right now. Keep an eye out for when this finally hits the shelves, a date that is annoyingly TBA at the moment. - Frederick News Post

The spirit of rock ‘n roll is exhumed, drenched in heavy blues riffs, and smeared with earthy grit by Brooklyn’s Graveyard Lovers, a band “unmatched for both quality and energy.” (CMJ.com) Comprised of Zach Reynolds (guitar,vocals), Tricia Purvis (Drums), and Orion Wainer (Bass), the three intertwine their deepest, darkest melodies and passionate forces on their 2013 release, Dreamers.

Ranging from dynamic “Manifesto,” slinky “Blessed Are the Ties that Bind,” ethereal “The Island,” to punky “Nameless,” Graveyard Lovers explore a spectrum of influences on Dreamers. Essences of Jack White, The Black Keys and Band of Skulls can be heard as the trio foster and grow their roots into Louisiana-blues-infused grunge-rock for a modern age.

Graveyard Lovers is in fact the story of lovers. A lifelong musician, Reynolds moved from New Orleans to New York in 2009 pursuing a solo career. In the Big Apple, he met and began dating Purvis. At the time, Purvis had been taking drum lessons for five years, a passion instigated by her friend Leah Shapiro of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

Beyond romantic sparks, Reynolds and Purvis found they shared undeniable musical chemistry that became Graveyard Lovers in late 2010, and they released their first self-titled EP in November 2011. After heavy gigging through 2012, the garage rock duo began recording their first full length album at Will Benoit’s Radar Studios. Enter Orion Wainer: veteran touring bass player (Coyote Kolb/Constants) and producer (Will Benoit.) Upon hearing the first mixes, Wainer immediately wanted to share the Graveyard Lovers experience, morphing the band into a solid power trio.

Read more at http://hangout.altsounds.com/news/159223-graveyard-lovers-live-bowery-electric.html#WE7DYxe6Sp6O5izb.99

Stay on the lookout for much more from Graveyard Lovers as they unearth new material and write the next chapter of their love story.
Read more at http://hangout.altsounds.com/news/159223-graveyard-lovers-live-bowery-electric.html#WE7DYxe6Sp6O5izb.99 - Alt sounds

Local cow-punk / swamp-rock trio Graveyard Lovers are playing Bowery Electric this Friday night alongside Brooklyn garage punk The Mad Doctors (who are releasing their debut EP "Fuzz Tonic" on Friday), Blue Coin and Tracy Island. Cover is $8 and doors are at 6:30PM (...and happy hour runs til 8PM).

Graveyard Lovers have been earning strong reviews with frequent shows around town and have been compared from acts that range from The White Stripes (prior to Graveyard Lovers adding a bassist) and "Sonic Youth… if Sonic Youth grew from Tennessee’s swamps and traded their soul to the devil while on the same road as Blind Willie Johnson" (The Deli Magazine). To my ears though, I think the closest point of comparison is Los Angeles' Tex and the Horseheads (...or a non-doped up version of the Gun Club).

"Graveyard Lovers are a blues-based indie rock trio comprised of guitarist/singer Zach Reynolds, drummer Tricia Purvis and bassist Orion Wainer. Zach is a native of Louisiana whose background is rooted in Deep South folk and blues. Tricia, a New Yorker, came up influenced by the innumerable waves of rock that have sculpted the NYC music scene into what it is today. " (from the band's bio)

Following up on the band's 2011's debut 5-track EP (check out "Ripe to Misbehave"), Graveyard Lovers has their full-length, Dreamers, ready to drop in September. The first release, "Manifesto", from the new disc is streaming above and the band played "Blessed Are the Ties That Bind" (also from the new disc) on The Artie Lange Show back in the Spring. - Brooklyn Rocks

We might be in the midst of a blues renaissance. Ever since Ohio rockers the Black Keys started churning out hot-fuzz lead lines in the mid-2000s, more and more American bands have gotten reacquainted with their distortion pedals.

Graveyard Lovers are one of Brooklyn’s loudest new trios. Their appetite for volume, blood and rocking is a refreshing respite from the New York borough’s more “chill” demeanor in recent years. The band’s ‘Love and Hunger,’ today’s free mp3 download, has a searing riff and rousing chorus that verges on becoming a hair metal moment.

“‘Love and Hunger’ is our blues-driven, arena-rock anthem,” the band tells Diffuser.fm. “It’s reflects anger at the realization that a scarring past relationship has held power of you for a long time.”

“It’s also a power play of your own though, saying enough is enough and deciding to change,” they add.

The Lovers just finished their first full-length album, ‘Dreamers,’ which will be released in the coming months.
- Diffuser fm

Somewhere nestled in the garage-blues-rock duo tradition between The Black Keys and The White Stripes sits NYC-based trio Graveyard Lovers. They ceased to be a duo in 2012, but they kept their swampy blues-infused sound. Self-billed as “Sonic Youth meets Son House,” they are a mash up of influences spanning from Deep South, punk, garage rock and grunge.

I’m not usually a fan of extensive this-meets-that name dropping when it comes to album reviews, but this ensemble leans in so many directions that it’s almost impossible not to draw comparisons. Their sound draws on rich musical tradition, but they still manage to keep things fresh in their first LP Dreamers, to be released on September 17th. With dynamic songs like "Manifesto" (which was also on their EP) and punk-inspired pieces like "Nameless," the album listens like a genre experiment with something new around every corner.

"From my Window" is reminiscent of Radiohead with a bit more twang. "Love and Hunger" is a raucous romp that swiftly plopped me onto the Graveyard Lovers bandwagon. I wanted to front-row their next show and witness this rumored fiery performance. Their dark, bluesy riffs are accompanied by Reynolds raw, layered vocals to create a solid album with distinct underpinnings of anxiety. It's hard to put my finger on it. They managed to capture something of the tension between freedom and constraint with three things: a show of good songwriting, thoughtful and important lyrics that are often socially conscious and the essence of good ol' rock n' roll.

Here's some background: guitarist and vocalist Zach Reynolds's was born in Louisiana, lived in New Orleans for a few years, and then moved to New York where he met Long Island native Tricia Purvis, the band's drummer. The pair actually started dating before discovering a promising musical chemistry and promptly hitting the stage. In late 2010, they started gigging as the Graveyard Lovers and some much warranted attention followed in their wake. They recorded an EP, impressed the critics and then added a bassist. In 2012, Orion Wainer, a Boston native, joined Purvis and Reynolds to make it a trio. Smart choice on their part. They were good before. They're better now. Point being, it's no surprise that they're so delightfully diverse. In an interview on the Artie Lange Show, Reynolds said that "music is a kind of cultural language," of which their gritty sound is solid proof. His blues roots and Purvis's rock background come together on the LP in an infectious and organic piece of work.

Check out Graveyard Lovers on Facebook and do the Twitter thing. Their first album Dreamers is set for release on September 17th. - COLLEEN ROMANIUK

And another blues stomp I'm digging this week is "Love and Hunger" by Graveyard Lovers. Their new album Dreamers comes out on September 17th. The tune crackles and swaggers with another excellent mixture of riffage, pounding skins, and howling vocals. Enjoy this double shot of blues rock and be sure to check the band out 5/31 at Bowery Electric. - Those Who DIg

The wait is over for new tracks from the very excellent Graveyard Lovers. The Brooklyn duo’s five-song, self-titled EP hit iTunes over the weekend, and below you can stream two of Zach Reynolds and Trisha Purvis’ newest songs: “Urban Blues” and “Burn The Malls.” The tracks are in keeping with the EP’s themes of economic and social collapse, which as days go by seem more and more a reality than just a grim prediction. “Urban Blues” takes us deeper into singer Reynolds’ American Dream. “The world around me is a rainy place to live,” he sings. Plainly, he’s fed up. There is, however, a balance in the song. Hope is hiding in the lyrics and in Reynolds’ flat-out rejection of evil, hypocrisy and conformity. When he says, “I don’t want what you’re selling,” he means it.“Burn The Malls” has more of a wit to it, a darkly humorous vision of revenge on the malls of America. “See I’m a man in America/and I took my fall/when the foundations crumble/we’ll burn the shopping malls” sings Reynolds; you can almost see gleeful rioters, torches and firebombs in hand. Tempo is key in these tracks with “Urban Blues” played at a quicker pace with stops and starts that’ll jostle you as hard as the lyrics. It’s an anxious, meditative song. “Burn the Malls” on the other hand is played nice and slow; you’ll never hear someone else talk so calmly about burning a building down. Both songs are part of that bold GL signature—one you’ll be seeing at Gutter in Williamsburg on Friday, November 11 for the Lovers’ EP release.Soon you’ll get the chance to hear even more new songs, which the band tells us is part of a full-length album it’ll be working on this fall and into winter. Recording is slated for spring and release for the beginning of summer. Stay tuned and keep GL on your radar.
- CMJ - Alex Erikson

What happens when you bring the blues of the deep south to the urban jungles of Manhattan? Passport issues? For Graveyard Lovers, there's an instant connection between Zach Reynolds' roots from Louisiana, and the city backdrop to drummer Tricia Purvis' rock roots. Think Deertick's angst with the rock posturing of arena bands like My Chemical Romance, and you've come close to the sound of their debut EP 'Manifesto."

The video to "Ripe to Misbehave" is ripe with the tortured thoughts of anyone who's grown to hate Brooks Brothers. Watch it here, stream the song below. - Deli Magazine - Michael Levine

Interview-Artie Lange Show - The Artie Lange Show- Direct TV/Sirius Radio

The Artie Lange Show- Graveyard Lovers "Manifesto" - The Artie Lange Show - Direct TV/Sirius Radio

Musical guests- Graveyard Lovers "Blessed are the Ties that Bind" - The Artie Lange Show

The free music, however, was awesome. We saw some fantastic new acts (Gangstagrass, Fighting Jamesons, Delta Rae, Graveyard Lovers, Caravan of Thieves, Homemade Jamz) and some old favorites (Red Elvises, March Fourth Marching Band) were brought back to our delight. - The El Vee

Saturday it was off to see Spuyten Duyvil, a New York band that played Americana. The show was OK, but there were other bands that did the genre far better, and so it was time to move on. A few steps away was the Graveyard Lovers, who we mentioned in our preview sound like the White Stripes. Everyday is a War, available on their Bandcamp for free, translated live extremely well. The loud, raw guitar cranking out catchy riffs with the backing drums made music that made you wish they were playing in front of a mosh pit instead of a seated crowd. - The El Vee

Singer Zach Reynolds has described his band, Graveyard Lovers, sound as “the entire spectrum of American music.” While this quote is undoubtedly far more ambitious than any two piece deserve, Zach and drummer Tricia Purvis certainly give it a solid go. The bluesy rockers tear it up in personal fave ‘Ripe to Misbehave,’ not unlike Sonic Youth… if Sonic Youth grew from Tennessee’s swamps and traded their soul to the devil while on the same road as Blind Willie Johnson. Even when they’re not shredding it out, this group will get up inside you with the rattlesnake ‘Burn the Malls’ and ‘Everyday is a War.’ If you’re looking for trouble, look no further. Graveyard Lovers knows what you’ve been up to, and is here to provide the soundtrack. - The Deli Magazine

The Graveyard Lovers are a Brooklyn based garage-blues-rock duo comprising of Zach Reynolds on guitar and vocals, and Tricia Purvis on drums. Of course, inspired by the success of The White Stripes, a whole wave of garage-blues-rock duos came to light, hung around for a bit, before mostly disappearing again, but The Graveyard Lovers have got enough about them to separate them from the surviving pack. Singer Reynolds has got a great voice that'll remind many of Tom Verlaine, and though there's no denying the primitiveness of their sound, everything is underpinned by proper songwriting and Purvis' Mo Tucker inspired tubthumping.

Comprising of just five tracks, their debut EP is a perfect introduction, offering plenty of variety, from the full on primal blast of "Everyday Is A War" to the measured, redemptive blues of "Burn The Malls". In-between they make their mark on post-punk on "Ripe To Misbehave", strip back wiry New York new wave on "Urban Blues" and get back to pure, raw blues on final track "The World is Ending". Simply stated, it's a great collection and I wholeheartedly recommend it. - Leicester Bangs Review

hese Brooklyn-based garage rockers describe themselves as ‘Son House meets Sonic Youth,’ but they follow the same two-piece bluesy rock template of White Stripes (there’s even a female drummer) and The Black Keys. But that doesn’t mean that they’re not every bit as enjoyable as their predecessors.
Actually, it’s not really fair to pigeonhole this band too neatly into that White Stripes/Black Keys formula. The EP is sandwiched between a pair of slow and sleazy rockers: “Everyday is a War” and “The World is Ending.” At first glance, these tracks seem a bit derivative, but Graveyard Lovers only use these as bookends, nay footnotes, to give context to the rowdy indie energy inside.
“Urban Blues” diverges and expands into some old school grungy alt-rock. The track presents a surprisingly big and complex sound for a two-piece band. The aggressive indie-rock of “Ripe to Misbehave” follows with a wild ‘80s post-punk vibe and some shouty Isaac Brock-esque vocals. The jangly blues of ‘Burn the Malls” cools everything back down in preparation for the 12 bars of “The World is Ending.”
EPs are generally just a spattering of the best recordings a band has managed to put together at any given moment, but the thought and planning evident here is closer to what you would expect from a full-fledged album. This five-track debut gives a taste of this group’s ability and, hopefully, a promise of more to come. - Target Audience Magazne

hese Brooklyn-based garage rockers describe themselves as ‘Son House meets Sonic Youth,’ but they follow the same two-piece bluesy rock template of White Stripes (there’s even a female drummer) and The Black Keys. But that doesn’t mean that they’re not every bit as enjoyable as their predecessors.
Actually, it’s not really fair to pigeonhole this band too neatly into that White Stripes/Black Keys formula. The EP is sandwiched between a pair of slow and sleazy rockers: “Everyday is a War” and “The World is Ending.” At first glance, these tracks seem a bit derivative, but Graveyard Lovers only use these as bookends, nay footnotes, to give context to the rowdy indie energy inside.
“Urban Blues” diverges and expands into some old school grungy alt-rock. The track presents a surprisingly big and complex sound for a two-piece band. The aggressive indie-rock of “Ripe to Misbehave” follows with a wild ‘80s post-punk vibe and some shouty Isaac Brock-esque vocals. The jangly blues of ‘Burn the Malls” cools everything back down in preparation for the 12 bars of “The World is Ending.”
EPs are generally just a spattering of the best recordings a band has managed to put together at any given moment, but the thought and planning evident here is closer to what you would expect from a full-fledged album. This five-track debut gives a taste of this group’s ability and, hopefully, a promise of more to come. - Target Audience Magazne

"We’ve told you before about Graveyard Lovers, but the difference between seeing the duo and watching it play live is enormous. On record the pair is an exceptional blues-infused rock duo in the league of the Black Keys or the White Stripes. Live? It’s an experience. Guitarist and singer Zach Reynolds begins by hanging his own lights—three swinging tungsten bulbs—above the stage. He says he’s typically not a fan of house lights and picked up the light bulb idea from a poorly-lit show in New Orleans. Next the members launch into a performance unmatched for both quality and energy. Reynolds turns and faces drummer Trisha Purvis and the two rock out in time. New material was on display and it revealed a greater depth to the Lovers’ potential. Despite having only two instruments, the music was inventive and impeccably arranged. Reynolds’ lyrics and vocal performance impressed us even more, not just improving on what we’ve heard so far, but blowing it away. The songs are heartfelt and interesting while remaining brash and rollicking. By the end the audience literally refused to let the two offstage until they played one more song. The Lovers played “Ripe To Misbehave” off its EP, with Reynolds running back and forth on stage as he played."
-Alex Erikson
CMJ - CMJ

“The world is ending,” sings Zach Reynolds in a bluesy drawl, “but at least I’ve got you…” Could he mean Tricia Purvis, the other half of Graveyard Lovers? Perhaps. Musically (at least) Reynolds and Purvis need each other, since without drums you can’t have guitar, and without guitar you can’t have drums—that is unless you’re playing for quarters on the subway platform. But the members of Graveyard Lovers are far from panhandlers. They’re a blues/rock duo with a sound like Tennessee sour-mash: rough but sweet, with a strong kick.

The pair is self-billed as “Sonic Youth meets Son House,” which sums it up nicely. It covers “the entire spectrum of American music,” says Reynolds. The band, based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, has a three-song EP and more songs in the works for what it hopes will be its first full-length LP. What began as a demo to apply for gigs with got spun out into something more. When you hear Graveyard Lovers’ three songs, “The World Is Ending,” “Everyday Is A War” and “Ripe To Misbehave,” there can be no doubt: this is rock and roll. “The World Is Ending” is a smoldering blues shuffle played at a menacing crawl, a slow burner that reduces the whole world to ashes; “Everyday Is A War” plays nicely on duo dynamics with call-and-response wordplay, Renyolds’ southern fried guitar fuzz and Purvis’ splashy, energetic drums. “Ripe To Misbehave” justifies that Sonic Youth comparison—it’s fast, aggressive, twangy and loud.

The pair met in New York through a friend and became roommates. Reynolds was searching for an outfit to join, but to no avail. Frustration led to boredom, and that’s when Reynolds and Purvis first jammed together. Sparks flew right away and the two knew right then and there they had something. Purvis, a New York native, was a newcomer to music, having picked up the drums only a few years ago. Reynolds, a season lifer in music, grew up in Louisiana with Delta blues singers like Son House, Blind Willie Johnson and Ledbelly seeping into his DNA.

There are certainly benefits to having a band comprised of only two members. Everyone shows up to rehearsal, decisions aren’t debated to death and band drama = non-existent. When you listen to rock stripped down to its bare parts like this, you realize what a great romance there is between a guitar and drums. “This band has come together and moved more gracefully than any other band I’ve ever heard of,” says Reynolds. And when you do listen to it, you get what he’s talking about.

Graveyard Lovers has a five-song EP due to come out next month, and Reynolds and Purvis are already working on new material for a full LP. Their running theme thus far has been decadence, decay and destruction. “America may be going down the tubes in a lot of ways,” says Reynolds, “but we still do one thing best: rock ‘n’ roll.”
- CMJ