THE REAL LAZY GENIUS

Dreamy

2014-02-28

The Real Lazy Genius - Patrick Wieland, Daniel Francis, Jonny Bruha, Adam Cavanaugh and Kristi Prindle - is a five-piece band that formed in 2008 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Local Spins describes the band's sound morphing "from punk-hued alternative music to shoegaze-shaded psychedelic rock." Their third LP, Dreamy, was released in December 2013, celebrated with a release concert at Founders, in downtown Grand Rapids. The album was recorded at Matt Ten Clay's Amber Lit Audio. Dreamy opens with Wieland's steady vocals in "Tide Hit The Rocks," a song that feels closer to rock, but the third track, "Lost Melody" moves into a psychedelic genre. The heavy drums and electric guitar of the first two tracks are left behind, and instead Lazy Genius brings the listener to a soft, reverb-filled dreamscape. Piano and violin carry the listener out of the dream and back to a rock reality. "Take Your Time" showcases the bands ability to create melodic variation over nearly seven minutes. "Skeleton Trees" uses heavy electric guitar, reverb and drums to create a haunting setting for Wieland's eerie lyrics. The title track, "Dreamy/It's So Far Away (Depth Perception Miscalculation)," is the most interesting of the album.Prindle's vocals begin over a simple guitar and drum line, before the song moves in and out of a cacophony of cymbals, snare, guitar, synth and keys.
Richard Martin

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