It’s More of the Same From Psychic Rain

If God’s own rain were as persistent as Psychic Rain, we’d all need arks.

But stick-to-itiveness, while always commendable--and absolutely essential for rockers who entertain high commercial ambitions--can get a band stuck.

“Spun Out” spins wheels attractively and expertly in the emotionally fraught, but repetitious romantic angst-rock rut that this talented Orange County band has dug since its debut release five years ago. It is a bit disappointing that singer-songwriter Greg Stoddard and his mates didn’t use the three years since their previous album, “World Ironic,” to explore new approaches, themes and moods. The two best songs here are, in fact, remakes from “World Ironic.”

On the other hand, Psychic Rain’s persistence rewards us with some superb moments, abetted by richly detailed production. On its two peak tracks, the title song and “Without a Sound,” Psychic Rain weaves soaring, hit-worthy magic. “Spun Out” falls somewhere between the Church and R.E.M., its account of romantic frustration enhanced by megaphone-distorted vocals that add extra urgency. “Without a Sound,” darkly dramatic and yearning, benefits from a lovely string arrangement for cello and viola that weeps sweetly in sympathy with Stoddard’s grand, passionate lament.

Overall, the album is too seamless as it dwells on moments of truth in relationships that seem fated to collapse but in which the singer is too deeply invested simply to let go. Each song needed to be more crisply etched with its own story, perhaps like chapters in a book. Instead, there is no sense of progression or implied narrative.

Musically, there are missed opportunities: “I Don’t Mind” begins as if guitarist Brian Stewart, bassist Patrick “Rico” Shannon and drummer Norm Antonini are going to break loose from the band’s stately groove with a rowdy, Stones-informed brawl. But the song soon settles into the more refined, textured, mid-tempo feel that dominates the album.

“Still Not Over You,” another holdover from “World Ironic,” gives the album some spark at the midway point; it’s a good example of the R.E.M./Gin Blossoms blend of jangling, rippling and harder-edged riffing that, along with lush backing vocals and a reedy, urgent lead voice, defines the Psychic Rain sound.

The final track, “I Know (Make Believe),” is a good finish, its affirmative surge betokening the true romantic’s unextinguished hopes despite troubles. If only the preceding songs had given us a better sense of the characters involved, it might have been a moving finale to a memorable love story. Instead, the album is, by and large, a blur of vague lyrics and too-similar songs.

Still, it’s all to the good that Psychic Rain persisted.

It hasn’t been easy. Stoddard was about to break up the band early in 1997, when it seemed to be withering from music industry neglect, and he was becoming worn down by a grueling regimen of managing a grocery store, making a 100-mile daily commute and trying to muster creative inspiration for his band while also trying to push it forward in the marketplace.

In somewhat of a Cinderella turn, two rescuers turned up on Psychic Rain’s doorstep after reading of its imminent demise. Arnie Wohl, a veteran record promoter, and John Shanahan, creator of the “Hooked on Phonics” learn-to-read system, liked what they heard on the band’s recordings and launched Worldstar to turn Psychic Rain into worldwide stars.

A deal was struck with Warner Bros. to distribute and promote the band, the album was finished by the end of 1998, then nothing happened. Managerial turmoil distracted Warner, and, Stoddard said, Psychic Rain requested and received a release from its deal rather than have the album come out on a label unsettled by recent shake-ups at its top rungs.

Worldstar has begun to push “Spun Out” as an independent, but Wohl says that other major labels are showing interest. Meanwhile, the album track “Take Me Down” recently was used in an episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Wohl reports that “Spun Out” will be on the soundtrack album for the upcoming Freddy Prinze Jr. movie “Down to You.”

(“Spun Out” is available from Worldstar Records, 660 Newport Center Drive, Suite 700, Newport Beach, CA 92660 or at www.psychicrain.com.)

*

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent).