Staggering

VINYL FORMAT. Jason Korenkiewicz began writing songs in 2006 for a two-man acoustic project tentatively called Boy Genius. One night at a party someone declared them "neither boys, nor geniuses" and the name was solidified. The band (now Jason on guitar and vocals, Marisa Cerio on lead guitar and backing vocals, Lisa Klimkiewicz on drums and backing vocals and and Jeffrey Mensch on bass and backing vocals) decided that legendary producer/musician Mitch Easter would be the person to work with on their second album. Known best for his work with bands like R.E.M., Pavement, Superchunk, Dinosaur Jr, the dBs and Velvet Crush, Easter's pop sensibility and distinctive recording style seemed a perfect fit for Boy Genius. They began sending him demos and, within a few months, Easter agreed to produce their second album, Staggering.

From its inception, the goal with Staggering was to craft an album tailor-made for vinyl that would both glorify the format and preserve the history of the LP. It was conceived in sequence as two sides of a full-length record, each with its own distinct beginning, middle and end. The album was recorded on tape, mixed to tape and mastered directly from tape to the lacquers that press vinyl albums. While the decision to rely heavily on tape proved arduous at points, the result is an album that has all the warmth and charm of a classic vinyl pop record. For this reason Staggering will be available on vinyl only, in limited numbers, with a download code included for the modern-minded listener. Staggering literally picks up where Anchorage left off, as the guitar line that closed the first album opens the second on electric harpsichord amongst a din of gong, feedback, crashing cymbals, piano and other instrumentation. Over the course of Staggering's 38 and a half minutes, the mix of jubilant pop songs, anthemic rock numbers and more subdued compositions are fleshed out with field recordings, tape loops, organs, fuzz, feedback, layered vocal harmonies, trumpet, timpani, glockenspiel and pretty much everything else imaginable. The result is an album that sounds wholly new, but would also feel right at home in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s or 2000s.