Is there any band out there that can outdo Green Day for the
\ntitle of best pop-punk band on the alternative scene?<\/p>\n
Count Boy Genius in the “contender” category for that title. The
\ntrio’s debut effort
\nThe Last Grand Experiment<\/i> shows off some very good music and
\nmusicianship (as well as a solid sense of humor), but its length
\nproves to be its downfall.<\/p>\n
Guitarist Tom Appleton is a more technically knowledgable
\nmusician than some of his peers, something you can hear in his
\nsolos he peppers this EP with. As a vocalist, he’s a little more
\nlimited than someone like Billie Joe Armstrong, but he makes up for
\nthat with heart. Bassist Scott West seems to play more of a
\nbehind-the-scenes role in the band, while drummer\/backing vocalist
\nBrad Allison demonstrates his ability on the trap kit very
\nwell.<\/p>\n
Boy Genius shows their greatest strength in their
\ntongue-in-cheek humor. Songs like “My Girlfriend’s In Love (With
\nSuperdrag)” capture the listener first with the self-deprecating
\nhumor, then with the solid musicianship all three members
\ndemonstrate to close out the one-two punch on the listener’s
\nsenses.<\/p>\n
But hidden behind the smiles and the energy of modern punk rock
\nis the evidence of the pain normal life can lead. “Love Is Weaker
\nThan Time” shows that Appleton and crew relate to the loss of love
\nin a long-term relationship, and they beautifully put their pain to
\nwords that almost everyone can understand, if not relate to. “Long
\nWay Down” continues this theme almost just as well. Again, carrying
\nsongs like this are the solid musicianship and the harmony vocals
\nof Appleton and Allison.<\/p>\n
Near the end of
\nThe Last Grand Experiment<\/i>, Boy Genius seems like they might
\nbe running out of steam a bit; songs like “New Conviction” and “Man
\nOf Honor” tend to blend into one another to the listener’s ears.
\nI’ll pin that on the band’s youthfulness; the only thing that helps
\nout the songwriting is time, and I am certain that small speed
\nbumps like this will be quickly ironed out by the band.<\/p>\n
My biggest complaint about this album is the length; it clocks
\nin at a half-hour. While this might be a disc you’d want to listen
\nto when you’re squeezed for time, I wish I had more than 30 minutes
\nto base a solid opinion of the band on. Just when you really start
\ngetting into the groove of
\nThe Last Grand Experiment<\/i>, the disc ends. Drat.<\/p>\n
Boy Genius is most definitely a name you should be hearing on
\nthe radio soon; many songs off
\nThe Last Grand Experiment<\/i> have the potential to be big
\nbreakout hits on alternative radio. Here’s hoping the next time
\nthey choose to grace us with more than eight songs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7494],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-39197","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-boy-genius","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39197"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}