Where some bands influenced by the Sunny Day Real Estate and Cap’n Jazz sound gradually steered it towards the “emo” we know and loathe today, there were other bands who expanded on the musicality of emotional hardcore, retaining insightful and affecting lyrics while avoiding the temptation to become self-loathing and whinny. Hum may have been the epitome of this “post-emo” movement (which I totally just invented), but The Life and Times certainly continue to carry that flag in their own unique way. There are very few bands I can think of that rock out in what seems like slow-motion, saturating the entire sonic spectrum while writing well-formed songs that succeed at invoking emotion.

Like many of my favorite albums, Tragic Boogie begins with a short track; two and a half minutes lay down the foundation for the rest of the album and leave you wanting more. The opening “Que Sera Sera” has a very straightforward guitar part with a bass line that works it’s way around the repeated chords to create melodic musical phrases. The thick effects on the bass leave no need for additional rhythm guitar, while the drums are steady, driving and unapologetic. Even though you may want to bob your head to the rhythm, the vocals drag you back into a steady sway. The voice is often processed to give that megaphone effect – both distorted and in a narrow bandwidth – and is treated with a healthy amount of echo and delay.

The Life and Times – Que Sera Sera (mp3)

The production on Tragic Boogie is engaging without being a distraction to the core elements of the band. There are distant-sounding segues, sampled drum fills, vocal harmonies, even some harp glissando. All these elements emerge from the distortion and static, floating in and out of the music, like harmonics that eventually reveal themselves in a room filled with noise. There is a singular vision and sound throughout the record resulting in an album that begs to be experienced from start to finish.

Despite all this focus on sound, don’t assume that the lyrics are an afterthought. Paired with such beautifully aggressive music, they leave you wondering whether all this energy is being directed towards pleasure or pain. In “Dull Knives”, “fools in love… choose to believe each other’s lies… it gives you what you need to stay alive”. Elsewhere the lines “You’re all I never wanted/You’re all I ever wanted” play against each other. Within this dichotomy, the oxymoronic title of the album begins to make complete sense.

There is however one point on Tragic Boogie that feels like a rough edge. While most of the lyrics on the album are presented as a collection of loosely related, suggestive phrases, there is a clear storyline that persists throughout “The Politics of Driving”. Although metaphoric, the narrative engages a part of my brain that was perfectly happy to hibernate throughout the rest of the album.

I can guarantee you that I wouldn’t be so excited about this album if I had never seen The Life and Times play live. When you realize that it only takes three people to create such a huge sound it only becomes more impressive. The lighting at their shows is stark as floodlights project their shadows on the back wall. Their energetic performance is neither contrived nor distracting. No single instrument is more or less important to their sound and no one member draws attention to himself on stage. They are firmly rooted in their aesthetic but they allow themselves to be carried away by their own sound. They are perfectly balanced in a way that few bands truly achieve.

This is my favorite picture of The Life and Times, taken by my buddy Bryan for Prefixmag.com while I dragged him to their show at SXSW:

more pictures at: Prefix Mag

The Life and Times play The Studio at Webster Hall on Saturday April 18th. Tickets here.

Additional tour dates and music on The Life and Times myspace page including “Old Souls” and “Let It Eat” from Tragic Boogie.

Buy Tragic Boogie from insound or direct from Arena Rock Recording Company