Infomaniac must have been recorded in a studio next door to
neighbors who don’t like loud music. The guitars sound like they’ve
been turned down to five, drummer Michael Fleischmann’s playing is
sedated and singer Brandon Reilly’s delivery is lukewarm. This is
indie-pop, which allows songs like “Good Morning, Waster” and “A Pair
of Blue Eyes” to succeed despite being muted. But for the most part,
the mixing is questionable and the performances lackluster. On
“Someday, But Not Today” the rhythm guitar gets lost, while the horns
on “Experimental Bed” are so quiet they sound like a frog croaking in
the distance. The band picks up the tempo on “Amsterdam,” but Reilly
quickly kills the mood with his disinterested crooning. It’s a shame
when poor studio decisions ruin a batch of mature pop tunes, but
Infomaniac sounds like it was recorded while everyone was half
asleep. Rock may be more than just volume, but pop relies just as much
on performance as it does on writing. — Matt Whelihan
This article appears in Jul 29 – Aug 4, 2009.
