Reeve Oliver has a new album out right now, and the sad part is that no one knows it. Either no one knows who Reeve Oliver is, or no one cares, or both of those facts put together.

Well…..Reeve Oliver’s main singer and songwriter was in a pioneering Christian punk rock band that toured the nation several times, and played punk rock in the vein of Nofx and won major awards, notoriety and changed my musical career forever; that band was called Dogwood. The guitar player, Sean O’Donnell, was in that band and in his free time was writing and recording for this new band Reeve Oliver. Eventually he departed the punk rock band and did Reeve Oliver full time, playing on west coast tours with bands such as Yellowcard and others.

They quickly got signed to an independent label called The Militia Group, and eventually garnered enough of a following to get a full fledged major record label deal! They signed with Capitol Records and was ready to record a full length album right after they finished up another tour with Yellowcard (who had just released their album Lights and Sounds to mixed reviews).

While Reeve Oliver was in the process of recording their next album, the record business was taking a dive and bands were being dropped left and right. Eventually, Reeve Oliver and all the Capitol Records alumni were gone (due to the parent company being liquidated of all attachments) but one thing remained, the recording that Capitol Records sprung money to make!

Reeve Oliver released that album entitled “Touchtone Inferno” which features 12 new tracks of the highest quality (thanks to the record label money) and it’s available now on itunes or you can get a hardcopy (like me) for 7.99 by clicking here. (No I don’t make any money)

Some might think, “Oh, Reeve Oliver is just another indie rock psuedo Christian band”, but they are not. With influences ranging from The Get Up Kids & Sunny Day Real Estate to Plankeye, these guys rock hard and don’t really push the envelope into religious avenues, never segregating any audience via religious affiliation or speech.

The latest album is chock full of catchy tunes, and the recording is top notch. I couldn’t believe that I slept on this release last year (2007) but with all the turmoil of the record industry, the boys in Reeve Oliver didn’t really have a marketing engine behind them to promote the album’s release. So if you’re looking for good music that is not in touch with the mainstream idiocracy that is going on in music today, and have 8 bucks to spare, I highly recommend Reeve Oliver’s latest disc entitled “Touchtone Inferno”!

Don’t trust me?

Visit their myspace page myspace.com/reeveoliver and sample tracks from the album before you buy it or just ignore me and move on.

Below is a video from one of the songs that was re-recorded for the new album entitled “I Want Burns” and it features Tony Hawk (yes the pro-skater) not doing the obvious. It’s low budget, and worth a listen, especially since I love musical endeavors that don’t rely on flashy tools, big money, or corporate dues to make art. Sure, their music isn’t going to make your fist go up in the air, throw a revolutionary tantrum and rise up against the world and all that is wrong with society (ala Rage Against the Machine) but at least you’ll have a good time. Sometimes, we need that.