Baumer

Were It Not For You

[2/5]

You could never accuse Baumer vocalist/keyboardist Nate Boykin of not being crafty with the quill, as his lyrics are filled with heart-wrenching, anthemic lines that should have kids singing in delirious unison at packed venues. Sharp quips like, “My body caves ‘neath the weight of her attention/Ignorant like a guest on a talk show/Applauding a cruel joke” (“Hard Drug”) and “You breathe in love like a cigarette/And put it out as you light up the next” (“Lucky Strike”) deserve more than this weak-in-the-knees new wave fronting as modern rock. Kenny McWiliams’ drum programming will get hipsters on the dance floor, but his guitar playing is the lifeless, dried glue that fails to hold together Were It Not For You. Considering the amount of loss and unrequited love Boykin chirps about, this disc surprisingly lacks the dank, palpable emotion that inevitably comes when you date a girl with “Heartbreaker” tattooed on her ass. (EYEBALLKevin Stewart-Panko