Ok, so I tried to look up exactly who Regine Flory is and found surprisingly little except some vague mentions of her being a French opera singer from around the turn of the century (so if you are “in the know” I would be interested in learning a little more). This baffling revelation, that the name sake of this album by a band I had previously never heard of was also fairly unknown, only plunged me deeper into the dark mystery of this record.

This is in fact the debut album of this Chicago trio (or is it just one man with some guest accompaniment…the plot thickens), and it is well worth a listen. This is another band whose hauntingly subtle sound pays heavy homage to the many other Middle American greats. With buzzing, growling chords suspended on wisps of singing feed back the album opens with a nicely crooned dark ballad. The rest of the album continues in this incredibly sparse sound and ploddingly meditative tempos that are always accompanied with very well placed strums. This is a definite gem of an album for those who still enjoy the solitary sounds of a man and his guitar.

The real beauty on this one comes from the range in tones used; from the incredibly muscular overdriven tones of the opener to the much more ethereal acoustic and a capella ponderings interspersed among the remaining tracks. The effects are pleasantly minimal, reverb, fuzz, and maybe a hint of tremolo, but always the pure tone of the guitar and voice is the emphasis. This is definitely one you must check out if you are into earlier Songs: Ohia, Pearls Before Swine, or Skip Spence as this is probably the best release of this ilk that I have heard since Pyramid Electric Company. 8/10 -- Kevin Richards (17 December, 2008)