Singer-songwriter Reuben O’Dell-barkow has been an institution in the Toronto music scene for over twenty years. From his early days in punk-rock power trio remainameless, to late-night-party rockers Bacchus or his current incarnation as Papa Reuben, he’s played every venue there is to play.
remainameless was a vital part of The New Grunge movement in the mid 00’s as the scene started to move away from art-rock and back into louder territory. Flanked by Rob Barber (drums) and Krazy Rob (bass), the trio cranked their amps and established themselves as local-legends with their high-speed melodic punk rock attack. Both of their albums Selftitled and Saving The Planet One Song At A Time received limited physical releases.
After remainameless dissolved, Reuben formed Bacchus – a new trio – with Keith Babcock (drums) and Tristan Campbell (bass, vocals). This project injected elements of soul and r&b into Reuben’s sound providing upbeat dancefloor rock with a timeless feel. EPs The Lady & The Moon and Be The Change/Live ’n Loud received digital-only releases.
During the pandemic, Reuben regrouped, wrote an album’s worth of songs and assembled a new trio with Tim Popek (drums) and Jerry Cerchez (bass). Adding blues to his existing stew of sounds, he re-emerged as Papa Reuben with material that would appear on new full-length Enjoy Anytime, his first in over ten years. Engineered by Derek Edwards, this selection of rock ’n soul is filled with the heavy, melody-driven sound Reuben is known for. Years in the making, he’s finally ready to unveil his new album to the world.
Cartridge Heart is proud to release Enjoy Anytime alongside Bacchus’s The Lady & The Moon (collecting both EPs plus bonus tracks) on disc for the first time and reissues of both remainameless albums.
Discography
