Founded by Memphis blues-punk kingpin Greg Cartwright, Reigning Sound fuse the hot-wired energy of garage rock with the deep emotional resonance of classic soul music in a manner that suggests a cross between the early Rolling Stones and the Sonics. While the band could rock convincingly, Cartwright's songwriting showed a maturity and emotional strength that set him apart from the majority of garage rock acts, and the group's R&B accents reflected the intelligent passion of the songs. Reigning Sound proved they could wail hard on 2002's Time Bomb High School, but their work with Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las on her 2007 solo effort Dangerous Game, 2014's mature, impassioned Shattered, and 2021's A Little More Time with Reigning Sound found them turning up their soul influences as they employed a more dynamic approach.