Happiness is Boring
Brian Lisik
Cherokee Queen

Once upon a time down in Akron, there was a power pop trio called The Action. No doubt, as a hostile youth, Brian Lisik must have crossed paths with that act and bought some of their local 45's, because the three members of The Action would smile at the recognition factor on Lisik's second solo disc, Happiness Is Boring. As a matter of fact, I hear a ton of influences on the eleven tracks here including Big Star, the Posies, R.E.M and, because Lisik's brother Craig is wielding a 12 string guitar on parts of the project, the Byrds. That said, latter parts of Happiness Is Boring also wanders off into territory the Byrds' off-shoot act, the Flying Burrito Brothers were mining for many years.

Although "The Poor Kids" has a sliver of funk in it, the majority of the tracks veer towards roots rock/power pop with the opener, "Helicopters," as a prime example. "Nothing I Can Do" might be the most cheerful protest song on record, with help from Craig Lisik's slide guitar, as the acoustic-flavored "Same Old Scene" has some nice touches to it. All said and done, the best of the batch here may be the "tender" love ballad "Sleeping With A Moron," as I restrain from cracking a blonde joke at this point in the review.

One reason a lot of people aren't impressed with the art work on discs vs. album covers of years past are you can't do much with the former when it comes to creativity and making an eye catching statement. But Happiness Is Boring turns out to be the exception and hats off to Ryan Humbert for making the disc itself look like an old-time vinyl record. A very clever move on his part.

If everything you have been listening to of late makes you wince over its bravado and excess, here's something that is on the opposite end of the food chain when it comes to taste in music. Bon appetite at the lack of boredom here.

Brian Lisik performs at the Hi-Fi Club, 11729 Detroit Ave., Lakewood this Saturday, May 12. Doors open at 8, show starts at 9. Other bands on the bill include Uncle Scratch's Gospel Revival, Redwater Rojo, and Newport. Visit Brian Lisik online @ http://www.brianlisik.com.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Peanuts hostofthenorthcoastATyahoo.com

Wanna get reviewed? Send your band's CD (less than 1 year old) to: Cool Cleveland, 14837 Detroit Avenue, #105, Lakewood, OH 44107.

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