He’s a beautiful guitar player, really squeezing every drop of soul out of that tinny, wild-sounding instrument with the metal pie-plate top. But he’s a helluva a singer and songwriter too. And he comes at it from his beginnings as a rap artist, so his songs tend to have a modern-zeitgeist, social-protest bent (lyrically), coming at you through that gut-bucket, gut-wrenching ’30s resonator guitar sound that feels dirt-poor, mad and about 100 years old. It’s an odd mix. When Reny really gets going, he stomps his foot in a frightening, raise-twist-slap-down manner that makes you fearful he’ll break something (like his ankle). Lil’ Bell, really is lil’ (about 4 foot 11, and all of maybe 80 pounds). But she can play the drums like a ring in a bell and sing like a bird, the perfect accompaniment to Reny’s spare, brimstone performances. They manage to forge their own sound and push musical boundaries in an era when many other musicians strive to sound the same.

Reny and Bell blend bluesy/funky finger-style and slide on National Resonator guitar, original poignant songwriting and solid straight forward grooves. Drawing mostly from pre-war blues, old school hip-hop, roots and dancehall reggae, they manage to forge their own sound and push musical boundaries in an era when many other musicians strive to sound the same.

The result of their efforts is a seemingly organic blend of the elements, sewing 100 plus years of American music into a rich tapestry of eclectic yet somehow familiar sounds all their own... Like everything, and nothing you've ever heard, all at once.