The Reivers were an American pop band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 1984 as Zeitgeist, they were forced to change their name before releasing their second album in 1987, due to another group claiming prior rights to the name. They chose the name The Reivers from the title of the

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most of ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

. The band included John Croslin, songwriter, vocalist, guitars; Kim Longacre, vocals, guitars; Cindy Toth, bass, violin; and Garrett Williams, drums. They were the best-known of a cluster of Austin-based bands loosely grouped under the name

New Sincerity New Sincerity (closely related to and sometimes described as synonymous with post-postmodernism) is a trend in music, aesthetics, literary fiction, film criticism, poetry, literary criticism and philosophy that generally describes creative works ...

. Writing for '' No Depression'' in 2008, critic Peter Blackstock described The Reivers as "a classic pop band...They balanced memorable melodies and unstoppable energy with seemingly effortless ease, contrasting the rough and sweet vocals of frontfolks John Croslin and Kim Longacre (respectively) amid an infectious swirl of chiming guitars and the unbelievably lively rhythms of drummer Garrett Williams and bassist Cindy Toth." The band released four albums, all of which received critical praise but not much commercial success, then disbanded in 1991. Croslin worked as producer and engineer on records for a number of bands, notably

Spoon A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for ...

and Guided by Voices. Two Reivers songs, "Almost Home" and "Araby," were covered by

Hootie and the Blowfish Hootie & the Blowfish are an American soft rock band that were formed in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1986. The band's lineup for most of its existence has been the quartet of Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim Sonefeld. The band w ...

on their 2000 collection ''

Scattered, Smothered and Covered ''Scattered, Smothered and Covered'' is a covers album by American rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, released in 2000. The album was named in honor of Waffle House, a Southern restaurant chain. One of Waffle House's advertising campaigns used t ...

''. In 1998,

Stereophile ''Stereophile'' is a monthly American audiophile magazine which reviews high-end audio equipment, such as loudspeakers and amplifiers, and audio-related news. History Founded in 1962 by J. Gordon Holt. ''Stereophile'' is the highest-circulation ...

critic Robert Baird called The Reivers "one of America's great lost bands." Croslin later co-founded an Austin band called The Fire Marshals of Bethlehem. In 2005, this band released an album titled ''Songs for Housework'', and Croslin subsequently left the band. The Reivers reunited in 2008 for occasional performances around Austin. On August 28, 2008, The Reivers played a benefit concert in Austin, and John Croslin announced that the re-formed band would be called Right or Happy. Under the new name, and including keyboardist Eric Friend, the band played at the 2009

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

. In January 2013 the band (once again calling itself The Reivers) released a new album, their first in more than 20 years. In July 2017, the band announced on their website that their show in November 2016 would be the last for the foreseeable future, and that they were on "indefinite hiatus". While the band has not broken up, there are no plans to play shows or record for the time being.

Discography

*''Zeitgeist'' ( EP, 1984)Brent Grulke
"Zeitgeist" (review)
''

Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'', August 24, 1984. *''

Translate Slowly ''Translate Slowly'' is the 1985 debut album by The Reivers. This album was originally released under the band's original name, Zeitgeist, but was remixed in 1988 and re-released under the band name The Reivers, after another band claimed rights ...

'' (1985) *''

Saturday Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday ("Saturn's Day") for the planet Saturn, which controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. The day's na ...

'' (1987) *'' End of the Day'' (1989) *''

Pop Beloved ''Pop Beloved'' is the fourth album released by The Reivers, in 1991. After two albums on major label Capitol Records that were critically well-reviewed but commercially underperforming, they returned to the independent DB Records. In her revie ...

'' (1991) *''Second Story'' (2013)

Footnotes

External links

thereivers.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reivers American pop music groups Musical groups established in 1984 Musical groups from Austin, Texas Jangle pop groups 1984 establishments in Texas