Malcontent (1994-1995) was a short-lived indie pop quartet from San Francisco. The band formed after leader, Larry O Dean 's previous band, The Fussbudgets splintered with the departure of co-songwriter, Chris Lehmann. Drummer, James Coil had played with The Fussbudgets in its last phase, as had bassist, Ned Doherty; Doherty was a constant presence in all of Dean's SF recordings, including those found on his solo debut, Throw the Lions to the Christians . Guitarist, Tony Maxwell was a friend of Larry's from high school in Flint, Michigan, who had relocated to the Bay Area to attend graduate school at UC Berkeley. Maxwell brought a tighter pop feel to his guitar parts (in opposition to The Fussbudgets' more shambolic work ethic), as well as a tendency toward bluesiness in his leads, most noticeably on “Perversity.â€
The band gigged infrequently in the Bay Area, recording a four-song EP dubbed Embarrassment of Riches with producer and all-around nice guy, Greg Freeman at his illustrious (and well named) Lowdown Studios. (Freeman had also worked on some Fussbudgets tracks.) The four principals were augmented by Christine Wall (Chris Isaak, The Movie Stars, El Sob) on vocals, and Sheila Schat (Dandeline, Tiny, Liar) on violin and viola. Embarrassment of Riches was briefly released on cassette, but its four tracks were later appended on Dean's solo debut, delayed but ultimately released in 1997, after he had moved to Chicago and started the band, Post Office .
