The Swimming Pool Q's - Deep End Press

Royal Academy of Reality

Royal Academy of Reality is an ambitious and successful summer blockbuster of a release...a sexy tour de force...glorious odes to the solar system. It's an anthem of the sun that would bust out in blows against the empire if anyone had the energy to launch a wooden ship, much less a rocket.

--VILLAGE VOICE

Possibly the most progressive American rock record of the new century. It sets an artistic standard few bands will be able to match.

--THE STATE

Overflowing with musical and intellectual ideas...flat-out astonishing.

--WIRE U.K.

Pocket symphonies of silvery guitar and warm-water singing: Abbey Road wrapped in kudzu.
--ROLLING STONE

A lavish record that's as cryptic as R.E.M. and as expansive as The Flaming Lips...warm and humane rather than aridly cerebral...their time may have come. 4 STARS.
--Q MAGAZINE U.K.

A gorgeous disc from a unique band that has been out of action too long.
--WASHINGTON POST

GRADE: A: Repeat listenings of Reality yield countless new pleasures.
--ATLANTA JOURNAL

A sprawling 70-minute voyage into deep space.
--CREATIVE LOAFING

The striking scale and superb craft of this album are impressive by any standard.

--ALL MUSIC GUIDE

This is one terrific album...a spectacular sound, one that overflows with sheer exuberance and invention...a strikingly original piece of work, and proof positive that in the grand tradition of Sgt. Pepper and Dark Side of the Moon, imagination and ambition are still vital ingredients when it comes to making music that really matters.
--SOUTH FLORIDA'S ENTERTAINMENT

NEWS & VIEWS

A rock and roll Gravity's Rainbow.
--AMPLIFIER

Exquisitely crafted songs [that] burst on the ear with the sudden force and electric sizzle of an August thunderstorm. Others open like furled flower buds, petal by petal, with imagery that's both winsome and passionate.
--TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT

Administration

Deep End Press > Billboard (1) > Billboard

Billboard

July 28, 2001

Declarations of Independents

by Chris Morris

Cool In The Pool: The niftiest reissue we’ve seen recently is a classy new version of the Swimming Pool Q’s’ 1981 album, The Deep End, on Atlanta-based DB Recs. This 20th anniversary collection contains the original album, which still sounds fresh, sophisticated, and inventive, augmented by 12 bonus tracks. Perhaps the best feature of all is vocalist/guitarist/saxophonist Jeff Calder’s intelligent, detailed liner notes, which serve as a thumbnail history of Atlanta’s vibrant music scene in the early ‘80s (and include such fascinating info as the fact that the opening act at the Q’s album release party was none other than R.E.M.). A first rate example of what a top-notch reissue should be, The Deep End is distributed by Redeye.