After his ponderously moody folk debut,
Gaines seems determined to prove he's not unredeemably morose. Several of the tracks feature aggressively cheerful electric guitar pop, with
Beatlesque bounce and a subtle undercurrent of alterna-buzz. Other tracks sound more like his previous acoustic work, but while the first record sometimes droned unmelodically, this one has a high percentage of catchy tunes. Unfortunately, though,
Gaines' upbeat songs are every bit as serious as the gloomy ones (he passionately complains that "so many people...just sit on their hands constantly complaining"). His melodrama had more emotional resonance when the music was equally sober. ~ Darryl Cater