Upon hearing the first notes of
Down With Gravity, the
Forever Einstein fan will feel slightly destabilized by the wah-wah guitar and the funky groove. No worry. After 45 seconds things come back to normal. The trio of Chuck Vrtacek (guitar),
Jack Vees (bass), and John Roulat (drums) accustomed the listener to a unique avant-surf-prog sound. Once more for this fourth album, Vrtacek throws guitar lines that would perfectly fit into a film noir or even a documentary on the Beach Boys heritage. But those lines also come with rhythmical complications and a very serious lack of seriousness. This time around, the surf/garage mood is treated with some Arabic flirts (on "You Want Fries With That?"). The writing is still full of surprises, sometimes downright complex, but the tunes are always delivered with ease and a somewhat mystifying debonair attitude (just listen to
Jack Vees' basslines). Although the length of tracks keep on growing (there is a 20-minute tune, quite a stretch from the two-minutes-and-under numbers of the first two albums), this opus may be
Einstein's most accessible release.
Finally, one of
Forever Einstein's trademarks is the incredible song titles Vrtacek comes up with and this time, he has outdone himself. A few examples: "My mule wouldn't walk in the mud so I had to put 17 bullets in her," "With a car like that you must be knee deep in whores," and this piece of anthology, "A fruit pie salesman with a whoopee cushion living in Wichita Falls OR Wow! If your fly weren't open you'd look just like Roger Moore." Lively, without pretension, funny, perfect for the avant-prog fan's summer vacation at the beach. A nice addition to the band's discography. ~ François Couture