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Reviews of Rick Bain
and the Genius Position
A
Music Fest Northwest Diary
By Joseph Fisher
Berbatti's Pan, 1:26 AM:
The evening is almost through and I feel like I have seen one-thousand more
bands than I actually have. On stage strolls Rick
Bain and the Genius Position. The band gears up and unleashes a peel of
thunder across the glassy-eyed audience. Bain squeals into the microphone
like an upset child who's all grown up now. An ancient organ reverberates
beneath the thunder and Bain's guitar seems to howl and twist
like a demon. Luckily I've ended the weekend on a positive note, with
Mr. Bain and his band giving us a glimpse of the future.
=================================================================
goochonline.com
How fortunate I am to have received this CD to review. How unfortunate Rick
Bain and the Genius Position is that it sat in my car’s CD player for a
month before I hit “eject” and actually reviewed the disc.
Bain’s skillful six-string guitar, accompanied by Joe Kaczmarek on the organ, Eric Pfau
playing bass, and Michael Ford on drums, have put together a sound that
deserves more credit than mere categorization. The only thing you can be sure
of is that it is good rock and roll.
I’ve always said that there aren’t enough damned organs in the
local music scene. Rick Bain is not afraid to showcase his organ in the
tracks "Assume the Position" I and II, both of which sandwich an
awesome psychedelic/ Pink Floydish “Magic
Horse.”
Some might call Crooked Autumn Sun a “retro” disc, but that is
true only to a certain extent. If you mean retro in that it is experimental
and makes the listener yearn for the days when music was inspired by life
stories and other great musicians, not financial gain or chart-topping pop
success then yes, it is "retro." Log on to www.rickbain.com for
some mp3s and information on buying this disc, which I wholeheartedly recommend doing.
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pomn.com
And then there's RICK BAIN AND THE GENIUS POSITION who had a mind-blowing
25-minute set that stretched out to almost a full hour, the excess mainly
consisting of "spacey" mood jams and "slowing things
down." Another Dandy favorite and it showed in attitude and presentation
-- theatrics over substance, lots of showmanship but light on content. Their
set was marred by a call over the PA for alcohol for the band which was
answered by a smug-looking young girl who paraded four bottles of FULL SALE AMBER to the stage. Soapbox: this
move totally pissed me off. A lot of my friends have worked damned hard on
this concert all year long and these absolute dumbshits
placed all that work at risk. My bet is that the girl was underage, everyone
knows that glass is prohibited in Waterfront Park as is alcohol and the band
was very aware that we had City of Portland officials present because I had
asked them to delay starting their set five minutes while we reviewed permits
with some bureaucratic flunky. Making an appeal for beer was totally
inappropriate and may come back to haunt this event as we try to get permits
for next year. Thanks, guys. Have the foresight to drink at McCalls or bring a coffee cup and pour them in your van
but this was just stupid. And then to leave the bottles onstage while we
tried to do a changeover for the next act AND to be dickless
rock stars when asked to pick up your garbage is totally bush-league. In
places they were great but I found it difficult to enjoy watching them burn
bridges.
clint darling
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Rick Bain & the Genius Position
They're laced with lysergic Britpop (Northwestern style: Dandy Warhols/Brian Jonestown Massacre), but unlike said
Dandies they choose substance over style. Great songs, great hooks, and what
a relief-aband using limey influences and trying to
sound contemporary but not sounding or singing like Radiohead.
the Village Voice (Bosler)-Aug 14, 2001
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RICK BAIN AND THE GENIUS POSITION AT THE SILVERLAKE LOUNGE.
Portland's Rick Bain knows what he likes, and it's called the '70's - strong
melodies, simple whomping rock drums, awee bit of guitar flash and the odd Hammond or synth flourish, and if you're gonna
philosophize lyrically, keep it heartfelt and accessable.
Bain and his band the Genius Position have a new album out, called Crooked
Autumn Sun (Official), where his formula shines amazingly well over 14 cuts;
it's as if he's skimmed the cream of the entire '70's rock era (slightly
skewed toward the British p.o.v.), analized and eliminated its weaknesses, and just plain
improved the whole thing. Bain's an excellent singer ans
a plainly pithy lyricist, and a skillfully subtle arranger as well - a
slightly odd chord progression here, a Hammond sweep there, occasional
dramatic updrafts into a wide-open sky. Best of all, while you'll hear
smidges of Floyd, Free, Mott, even ELO end, yes, dammit,
Frampton Comes Alive, Bain never sounds like he's just pastiching.
And after a few spins you'll swear Crooked Autumn Sun has been a crucial fave since 1974. (Les Moore)
LA WEEKLY PREVIEW for July 19th, 2001
=------------------------------------------------
RICK BAIN AND THE GENIUS POSITON, "CROOKED AUTUMN SUN" (OFFICIAL)
It's not immediately clear what Rick Bain is up to, but that's not a bad
thing; "Crooked Autumn Sun," the debut album from Bain and his
band, the Genius Position, is more intriguing for revealing itself gradually.
The opening song is called "Three Chord
#1," and the quartet does dabble in the sort of '60s pop rock that title
evokes. Yet the Portland, Ore., singer-songwriter and his group
are also a little bit alt-country, somewhat psychedelic and even capable of
lengthy instrumental workouts.
Bain used to play in a band with Dandy Warhols
drummer Brent DeBoer, and his current sound has a kinship with the Warhols' cocktail of rootsy and
trippy. The Genius Position takes most songs at a
woozy stroll, with organist Joe Kaczmarek endowing
an appropriately circa-1967 ambience to lines like "sunburned brain
cells all the way" and "it's much better when you're high."
Yet most of these blissed-out tunes are reportedly
about a volatile romantic relationship. Balanced between endless summer and
persistent bickering, songs like "So Good" and "Not Now"
are a pretty good trip. (Mark Jenkins)
THE WASHINGTON POST-ON THE TOWN for August 3rd, 2001
=------------------------------------------------
ROCK/POP-RICK BAIN AND THE GENIUS POSITION.
Does the world really need another Beatles-pedestaling
rock outfit? Probably not, but despite that Rick Bain describes his band's
music as "Magical Mystery Tour without the vocal harmonies," he and
The Genius Position are more than mere copycats. Bain, who recorded his own
version of The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" (available on MP3 at
www.rickbain.com", is a skilled interpreter. He layers influences
aplenty on his new "Crooked Autumn Sun" (Official Records), mixing
bits of classic pop and psych rock with more modern Brit pop touches (fitting
since the Portland, OR. band toured America in 2000 with like-minded
Portlanders Dandy Warhols). "Autumn
Sun's" lead single, "Not Now," swirls an airy organ hook with
chummy pop-song lyrics. "Lovin' Yummy"
rocks with a harder, metallic edge while winkingly
incorporating the line "somebody help me, yeah" from the Bee Gees'
"Stayin' Alive." It's the kind of self-concious referentialism that
makes the bands more overt derivations palatable. Also on the bill is Philadelphia's "The Situation," whose
eponymous 4-song EP is full of moody guitar pop and strummy
acoustic numbers. The band's leader, Christopher Tucker, is a talented
songwriter. We're anxious for more. (Brian Howard)
PHILADELPHIA CITY PAPER-PICK OF THE WEEK for August 2nd, 2001
=---------------------------------------------
MUSIC-BAIN IS BACK, STILL EERIE BUT WITH A MORE UPBEAT BEAT.
The singer reworks his old band and adds new songs.
These are days of milestones for Portland singer-songwriter Rick Bain.
Opening for '80s archetype the Romantics on Friday night is
but one.
For instance, Bain's longtime outfit, Rick Bain and The Genius Position, is
gone, now renamed simply Rick Bain. New members have come aboard; the band now
consists of Nathan Anderson on organ, Clayton Jones on drums and Ryan Thomas
on bass.
And though many of the songs remain the same, Bain says there's more upbeat
material in the set list now, more, that is, than just the slow-burning,
psychedelic pop of his 2000 release, "Crooked Autumn Sun."
"I'm a very passive, patient guy," Bain says. "But I have
energy spurts. And I'm starting to speed things up."
He cites the moody meanderings of bands like Pink Floyd and popsters including Tom Petty as influences on his eerie
yet catchy musical sensibilities.
"It's kin of like I took every genre, and once it started to suck, I
clipped it off and put my own spin on it, finishing it my own way."
Bain's haunting melody lines stretch slowly over nebulous electronic effects,
forming a strange arc that indeed seems to touch on various eras of rock.
Much of that is aided by his fascination with vintage gear, which he tweaks
to sound like modern digital machinery--well, almost.
"I like using vintage instruments to make psychedelic sounds, more than
techno or ambient groove noises," Bain says. " I
like old toys with transistors, tubes in them, and in weird colors. I like
analog synthesizers, old organs run through old amps, vintage guitars run
through vintage amps."
Bain says his band is not unlike the Romantics in some ways, certainly conpared to when the Romantics emerged around 1980. He
said there's something retro about both outfits. So it's slightly
serendipitous that Bain befriended Romantics bassist-vocalist Mike Skill, who
now makes his home in Portland. Bain says they're good friends,
having met while Skill was working at a local music store. Bain admits to
having been a fan over the years, too.
"They started as a retro band back in the '80s," Bain says. "I
like that. I like a more general timelessness, rather than a dated
genre."
Friday's Romantics gig comes as the group is working on a new album,
scheduled for release later this year. The show will feature founding members
Skill, Coz Canler and Wally Palmar,
plus former Blondie and Eurythmics drummer Clem
Burke.
And while Bain also is working on a new album, his friendship with Skill, and
their aesthetic similarities, may well become another milestone for both of
them.
"Mike's working on a solo album," Bain says. "We're talking
about me producing it." (Andre Hagestedt)
THE OREGONIAN A&E-NW BUZZ from March 15th 2002
=------------------------------------------------
splendid e-zine 2001
Portland, Oregon's Rick Bain and the Genius Position are quite simply a great
American rock band! Taking cues from psychedelic outfits like Pink Floyd, but
putting a wholly American twist on the oeuvre, they bear a distant
resemblance to The Doors or maybe The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. There's a
vastness to Crooked Autumn Sun, a certain pervasive penchant for things big,
wide or spacious. Take a song like "Bye Bye
Blue Eye". The gentle western twang, the moseying gait, the distant
vocals and transcendent rock organ underpinnings all point toward something
bigger than life. The instrumentals "Assume the Position" parts I
and II are similarly expansive. "Magic Horse" approaches Spiritualized's realm of hypnotic, trance-inducing rock
landscapes. The entire album is a beautifully textured and monumental work.
Some songs on Crooked Autumn Sun aren't as epic, but still exude this spirit
of freedom. "So Good" is smooth and melodic; Bain's rich baritone
is paired in unison with a dreamy, whispery female voice, creating an
enchanting sonic mixture. "So Good" has more than a bit of Honky Tonk to it. The shuffling rhythm and rootsy
slide guitar could easily be Merle Haggard, but the spacy
organ pads and the effusive use of echo effects are just too trippy. "Orlando"
is atmospheric -- music for a rainy afternoon, perhaps. The lyrics are powerfully
visual: the best line is "And Satan was my backdoor man…"
Believe me, in context, it's not as corny as it sounds!
This is an album that starts out strong and then grows on you. I've heard it
five times now and I like it better each time I listen to it. I've found it
particularly rewarding to dive more deeply into the lyrics. Their nuance and
depth do much to enhance the album's expansive atmosphere. It's always great
to discover an exceptional new band, but to discover one that you might actually
still like in a year's time is priceless!
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From Aural Innovations #15 (April 2001)
Portland, Oregon
sure does seem to be a hotbed of psychedelic pop bands. King Black Acid and
The Helio Sequence have been featured in Aural
Innovations, and though I've yet to hear them I understand the Dandy Warhols fit the mold. And now we have Rick Bain and the
Genius Position. Early Pink Floyd pop-psych and the Beatles are apparent
throughout, but the band rocks hard too with a combined talent for melody and
intensity. Both retro and modern, the band manage to
create accessible songs that have the added benefit of being backed by a
gorgeous psychedelic sound. The band consists of Rick Bain on guitar and
vocals, Michael Ford on drums, Joe Kaczmarek on
organ, and Eric Pfau on bass. Crooked Autumn Sun is
their debut CD.
Not all of the 14 tracks on this album grabbed me, some being well written
but unmemorable. But the ones that worked, worked well. Among the highlights
is "Three Chord #1". Strained weaving guitar lines and trippy organ give the music it's
pop-psych edge. The full band sound is heavy with a slight drone, though the
organ lines and gorgeous paisley slide guitar licks are easily heard. "Lovin' Yummy" is a crashing rocker
with a Beatles feel during the guitar solo. I love the organ's
participation in the heavy parts which gives the music a
beautiful 70's feel. On "Orlando",
once again the organ embellishment and Beatlesque
guitar licks go a long way toward giving the song it's
power.
"You Are Still" is a standout track that opens with a cool combo of
freaky noodling sounds that leads into an
oh-so-simplistic but beautiful 60's pop flowery psych tune. But there's power
to the song as the organ propels it into more modern and heavier rocking
times. An excellent track. "So Good" is similar, but not as
powerful. And "Linear High" is another potent pop-psych rocker I
enjoyed.
Really good songs. But I'll be damned... these guys can also throw structure
out the window and jam. The trio of "Assume The Position Part I",
"Magic Horse", and "Assume The Position Part II" feature
the Genius Position tripping out and exploring the cosmos a bit. "Assume
The Position Part I" is a simple but mucho cool bluesy tripped out psych
journey. But "Magic Horse" is the most spaced out track on the
disc. Cosmic wailing guitars and totally Rick Wright Floydish
organ. Then as if inspired by the Pink Floyd influences of "Magic
Horse", for "Assume The Position Part II" the band let their
hair down and keep the journey firmly in space. Quite nice.
So now I'm completely absorbed in these three tracks and I get to the last
song on the album, "Amber Waves Of Grain", and see it's 12 minutes long and figure the band is going to
completely take off now. No such luck. It's a 5 minute song, and not even one
of their better ones, and then they do the tired old lengthy dead air thing
that finally leads to a couple minutes of nonsense. I HATE IT when bands do
that! (Sorry, that always makes me vent.)
In summary, Rick Bain and the Genius Position will appeal to fans of well
written songs with a firm psychedelic influence. Love that organ. If you're
in Portland and a committed King
Black Acid concert goer then you'd do well to eyeball
the papers for a Rick Bain performance
Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz
----------------------------------
exotic magazine
I first heard of Rick Bain more than a year ago, as a brash young man
responsible for a rather remarkable tape that was circulating around town. On
the tape, Bain performs the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds"--surely a pop
sacred cow if ever there was one--in its entirety on a four-track recorder
with just guitar, bass, keyboards, minimal percussion and voice. What's
remarkable is not just the chutzpah required to take on such an acknowledged
masterwork, but the fact that he did it so well. His lark recording displays
a vast reservoir of patience, skill, meticulous craftsmanship and above all,
an unwavering, non-ironic love of pure melody and all things pop. Last
summer, Bain and his new band the Genius Position put out their debut album
Crooked Autumn Sun (Official Records), a thickly textured chunk of radiant
groove pop that was read by some as coming under the direct influence of
their tour mates the Dandy Warhols. Regardless,
Crooked Autumn Sun stands on its own as an impressive "Chapter One"
in what will no doubt be an engaging volume of spiffy sounds courtesy of Rick
Bain and the Genius Position.
Our interview took place at the Cobalt Lounge on a chilly-ass December night.
Present were Rick Bain (guitar, vocals), Michael Ford (drums), Joe Kaczmarek (organ) and Eric Pfau
(keyboard bass). At one point, their new guitarist, a lad named Nick turned
up, but was quickly asked to leave when he could produce no drinking-age I.D.
After waving "adios" to Nick, the band regaled me with tales of
dangerous jackets, dandy friends, lofty ambitions and of course, shagging.
Exotic: Now that your first album Crooked Autumn Sun has been out for a few
months, have you had a chance to reflect on it? Does it still sound good to
you or are you completely sick of the material?
Rick Bain: I'm actually still impressed with it.
Exotic: Is there anything you wished you had done differently or had more
time to develop?
Rick Bain: It was originally supposed to be a double album. It was going to
be a half pop record and half stoner record. But we had to finish it in time
to go out on tour with the Dandy Warhols. So it
came out two-thirds pop and one-third stoner.
Exotic: Is there any music you've heard recently that's inspired you?
Rick Bain: Seeing the Brian Jonestown Massacre in L.A.
was really cool.
Exotic: Aren't they on about their 48th lineup change? Man, those guys are
intense! They get into fistfights on stage!
Joe: Yeah! Our very first show was opening for those guys at Berbati's Pan. After venting at his band for like an hour
during sound check, Anton [Newcomb, BJM's frontman] left his jacket on stage. We got up to do our
sound check and Rick moved Anton's jacket out of the way and Anton screams
from the back of the room "Hey! Don't fucking
touch my jacket! Quit fucking with my jacket! I'll fucking kill you!"
Eric: And he meant it!
Joe: You could see the look in his eyes and see the craziness. But he's also
a cool guy.
Exotic: Do you relate more to contemporary Brit-Pop or classic psychedelic
rock?
Rick Bain: You take, like, the Tom Pettys and the
Bob Dylans, the American stuff...that's what we
always think we're trying to do. But then there's the Beatles influence and
the Pink Floyd instrumentation.
Exotic: What is your composing procedure?
Rick Bain: We keep the chords that are most exciting. Then a bass line,
melody line and lyrics, in that order. Ideally, the music will influence the
lyrics.
Joe: We've been guilty on more than one occasion of performing songs live
that had no lyrics. Rick just tries to make them up as he goes along.
Exotic: How has the critical response been to your album?
Joe: There is one reviewer in Portland
that has never said anything nice about us. I doubt he's ever seen us and I
doubt he's heard more than a few seconds of the first song.
Jagger could seduce a four-year-old girl, but could
he put a tear in the eye of both the girl and her grandmother? John Lennon
was a starry-eyed shagger.
Exotic: You toured with the Dandy Warhols during
the summer and some reviews have offered up a stylistic comparison between
you two. Has their involvement been sort of a mixed blessing? Sometimes when
an established band helps out a smaller one, the influence of the bigger band
tends to obscure everything. One writer I talked to actually called Rick Bain
& the Genius Position "Dandy Warhols proteges."
Joe: We get a lot of that shit in this town. I think it's exclusive to Portland
and maybe the Northwest.
Eric: I think a lot of it is--and I hate to say it because I'm most
responsible--that damn keyboard bass.
Exotic: Ah, the key bass, just like Zia from the Dandys plays!
Rick Bain: There is that influence, but the key bass allows one of my best
friends in the world to play in the band with me.
Eric: It's the only thing I can play!
Exotic: So do you have to take your shirt off on stage?
Joe: He doesn't quite have the boobs for it.
Exotic: You can always tell a band's self-esteem level by their stage
presence. Some bands have guys that just stare at their shoes and mope while
others actually move and groove.
Joe: We're performers! We want to make it as fun to look at us as it is to
hear us.
Eric: We've made ourselves easy targets by trying to be entertaining. But you
gotta wiggle your ass a little bit. Some people
resent you for that.
Michael: Portland especially.
They seem to embrace the shoe-gazers.
Exotic: I guess it's the old "Dandy Warhols
vs. Elliott Smith" debate.
Joe: That's right! It seems to be the way things break down in Portland.
The indie-rock, Elliott Smith, Quasi thing and
then, like us and the Dandys...
Rick Bain: I'm just not sad.
Joe: We just want to have a good time! I love Elliott Smith records, I think he's a great songwriter.
Rick Bain: I do, too, but I think Elliott Smith has more of an ego problem
than Courtney Taylor ever could. Do we really give a shit about all that shit?[i.e. being a junkie]
Joe: Some people do...
Exotic: What was the Dandys tour like? How far did
you go?
Rick Bain: Physically? Courtney didn't
touch me and I didn't touch him.
Exotic: Did the Dandys' crowd like you?
Rick Bain: Yeah, I think they did.
Eric: It was a nice challenge for us because we had a virgin audience to what
we were doing and each night we had to win them over. It seems like we did
that every night.
Exotic: Were you competitive with the Dandys? Did
you try and blow them off the stage?
Eric: Every night! But it was friendly competition.
Joe: It was healthy. I think they played better with us opening for them.
They're a great live band, but I think we gave them a run for their money.
Exotic: Did you get any girly action on the Dandys
tour?
Michael: There was no time! We were always worried about getting to the next
city on time.
Joe: We did better on our own tour. With the Dandys
there was no time to hang
out and hook up.
Rick Bain: Well, in New York,
Joe had two girls fighting over him.
Joe: I'll tell it! There was this one girl I really liked and I invited her
to this party but she couldn't come. So I asked this other girl and made out
a little bit and the other one showed up and I didn't know what to do. I
really liked the first one a lot, so I kind of told the other one to go away.
Exotic: After making out with her?
Joe: Well, I didn't really tell her to leave, it's just that the first girl
showed up and got
really mad and kind of made a scene.
Exotic: What a stud! What's your next step career-wise?
Eric: To be heard of.
Joe: We're trying to book another U.S.
tour in the same cities we were in with the Dandy Warhols.
We're trying to get our label to really get behind it with publicity and
radio support. We've been working backwards. We had no album distribution
when we toured with the Dandys. We got our records
done on the day we left!
Exotic: Do you spend a lot of time thinking about band style?
Rick Bain: Not as a band, but I think individually we do. We like to look
good...
Joe: I think we've been wearing the same clothes the whole time. We don't have
any money! I have one pair of jeans and one pair of corduroys!
Michael: There were a lot of reviews when we were a young band that focused
on the clothes we wore and the clothes our fans wore instead of anything we
played.
Exotic: Do you think your music is sexy? Do people get into the grooves in a
sexy way?
Rick Bain: We get a lot of that. I think our music is sexy. Music is great to
make love to.
Eric: I like fucking to it.
Exotic: Beats the weather channel, I suppose. Now, when people say there are
Beatles fans and Stones fans, they're talking about the Beatles representing
a sort of idealized, starry-eyed love and the Stones being more about
slipping out for a quick shag. Where do you guys
fall in line?
Rick Bain: We're both. We're starry-eyed shaggers.
I like the Stones, the whole
take it out to the van and shag thing, but I love every Beatles song. I can't
say that about the Rolling Stones. Jagger could
seduce a four-year-old girl, but could he put a tear in the eye of both the
girl and her grandmother? John Lennon was a starry-eyed shagger.
John Chandler
© 2001 X Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. copyright | trademark | legal
notices
----------------------------------------------------
ink 19 review
Mark my words, if this Portland, OR psyche outfit’s CD had better
artwork and was on a hipper, more established label, this would have been on
countless “best of” lists for the year 2000. As it stands,
Crooked Autumn Sun is a near-perfect psychedelic guitar album, with more
emphasis placed on the melodies and attitude than on extended guitar jamming.
The band’s closest contemporary is without a doubt The Brian Jonestown
Massacre, which in turn means that Spacemen 3, Primal Scream, and, er, The Rolling Stones are all valid reference points.
The album’s only weakness is the fact that several of the songs sound a
little too similar, but when the songs are all as good as the paisley and
sunbeam-filled “Not Now,” who can really complain? Rick Bain may
not be as cute as that dude from Coldplay, but his
album is a trillion times better, now let’s just hope he finds an
appropriate label and an art director.
Daniel Gill
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theflyingsaucer.com
Rick Bain And The Genius Position bears a distinct sonic signature unlike any
in recent memory. Their psychedelic sound is at times akin to that of Pink
Floyd and Radiohead, yet balanced with straight up
rock and roll. Their recordings are genuinely warm and sexy, while
maintaining an innocent, down to earth presence. Bain writes unpretentious
lyrics that sneak on you, rich with heartfelt testament and vivid imagery,
which are nonetheless invitingly melodic and easy to sing-along with.
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cincinnati city beat
Fusing expansive, Floyd-ish psychedelia
and melodic yet subtly bratty jangle Pop, Portland's Rick Bain and the Genius
Position have one of the best narcotic Brit-Pop-leaning sounds to come from
this side of the pond in a while. Like the hazy, kaleidoscopic sounds of The
Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre, Bain
and Co. have a pure Rock & Roll heart that's been dipped in chocolate and
THC. The band, who formed in 1998 out of the ashes
of Portland mainstays Spin
Jupiter Spin, made their way around the country in 2000 opening numerous
dates for the Warhols and generating considerable
buzz. The group's latest release is Crooked Autumn Sun, is a far-out,
mesmerizing slice of tuneful, organ-laden Trip Pop.
On Sunday at Sudsy Malone's.
-- M.B.
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www.adequacy.net
It's rather unfortunate when one comes across a lead singer ill-suited to be
fronting a particular band. There is the initial disappointment, the
"what if..." and then the eventual disconnection with the music.
This does not necessarily include bad singers, mind you, because those
projects are doomed from the beginning. Take U2 for example: an enjoyably
creative band is made unenjoyable by an operatic
singer who turns every decent composition into a "We are the World"
message. This does not make U2 an unlistenable
band, nor a bad one. It simply makes one wish how
good they could be with a more interesting lead singer. Rick Bain and the
Genius Position have a similar problem.
In and of itself, Crooked Autumn Sun is not a bad album. The quartet, which
has (of all people) Rick Bain on guitar and voice, a bassist, drummer and
organist, sound professional and put-together. The recordings, which echo the
analog methods of the 70's, come off warm and organic. The organs mix with
the guitars, creating a combination of serene soundscapes
and chunky riffing that makes this band sound both like Cheap Trick and Pink
Floyd.
"Three Chord #1" is an organ-driven pop song that opens the album
effectively. "Lovin' Yummy" moves a
punishing riff into Smashing Pumpkins territory. Mellow numbers like
"Magic Horse" and "Orlando" catapult the band into pscyh rock. They vary things just enough to keep it
interesting: the wonderful keyboard hook of "Not Now" and the hick-ish bounce of "Rapture" prove the band isn't
just a one-trick pony.
Occasionally though, things get odd, and it's often Rick Bain's fault. The
liner notes credit him with almost all of the writing, so his musicianship
isn't too bad. And though his nasal voice can get annoying, it's his lyrics
that really kill these songs. For all of the AM
radio buzz of "Three Chord #1," Bain drags it down with stoner-rock
lines like "let's get our rocks off/with our socks on." Similarly,
in "Lovin' Yummy" he talks about
"sex and Legos." The rest of the lyrics
often focus on hazy drug-induced states and/or Bain being an asshole. The
band may get off on it, but the joke's lost on me.
Perhaps if you get into this sort of stupid, goofy, lyrical play, then Bain
will sound like an epiphany. Otherwise, it's just annoying.
Again, Bain hardly ruins the band. In fact, it was his melodic, fuzzy
arrangements that gave it life in the first place. One just wonders if this
band could have been really good with a lead singer. As it is, they're pretty
decent, with goofy lyrics and some nice musical arrangements. Bain's
screwball lyrics might even appeal to some of you aspiring goofballs out
there. Rick Bain and the Genius Position don't break any new ground, but they
offer enough warm textures and rock attitude to keep things interesting for
at least a little while.
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