Band: A Bad Think
Genre: Alternative, Rock, Progressive
Album: A Bad Think
Mixed at Sonikwire Studios by Stacy Heydon in Orange County, CA (except "Fade Away" mixed by Skip Derupa)
Recorded at Windmark Recording by Skip Derupa in Virginia Beach, VA
Mastered at Capitol Mastering by Robert Vosgien in Hollywood, CA
Produced by Michael Marquart


A Bad Think's premise is that of reflection up life and the love, hate, death, happiness and sadness that marks it. The trio from Virginia Beach, Virginia brings the guitar of Ralph Bruner and bass and some background vocals of Don Burford together with the lead vocals and instrumentation of Michael Marquart for an overall sound that floats between reality and the surreal. The album vacillates between slight mystic-like arena rock, mid-1980s style feel that is (read: cascading vocals and heavy lead guitars/solos) with "On My Own", "Sensearound" and "Eyes That Don't Lie" to a sound very akin to Pink Floyd with the tracks "Graveyard Song" and "Angel in Disguise".

The introspective nature of the band's songs lends the listener to relate to the feelings, situations and realizations Marquart tells through his vocals. "On My Own" literally deals with a lost letter arriving seven years late in the mail one day. However, metaphorically, the song is an example of the moment in life where we realize despite the friends and family that surround us their existence in our world is temporal and we are truly alone, left to carry and support ourselves 'til our last day and breath.

Hitting on the more mystical sounds, "Eyes That Don't Lie" recounts the tough truth we often encounter in relationships in life: timing is everything. Lyrics like "And now your smile gives you away/ To just another selfish scam/ Now I believe that one day you'll see me/ Through eyes that don't lie/ Now you tell me your [sic] born again/ And I'm just some casual debris," speak to the fact that sometimes we're just not on the same plane of thought or action and hard as we may try, never really connect.

On the flip side of misconnection, "Graveyard Song" focuses almost hauntingly on the fraternal bonds we make in life and symbolically carry through to death. While not explicitly being a soldier's song, the intimation towards it definitely shows through the marching rat-a-tat-tat of drums that sandwich the lyrical content Marquart sings such as, "Closer now my brothers come, as I wait my turn/ From God we come, to God we will return/ But here today we live to fight another day/ Till all are gone none of us remain."

Overall, A Bad Think is an easy listening release that brings to the forefront all of the bad issues we encounter in life and forces listeners to try and see them in a new light be it the event was for the best or that the individual is merely not the only one who has suffered it. A Bad Think delivers on their promise and moves the listener along the album from one bad think to another.
www.windmark.com, www.myspace.com/abadthink
-uc