Review: The Life and Times

thelife
The Life and Times
“The Flat End of the Earth”
(54′ 40′ or Fight!)

Every band has members from different bands. It is near impossible to find a group of musicians who are in the band they originally started with. The Life and Times is no exception. This trio hails from four different bands (I know, three people and four bands don’t make sense, but trust me), all claiming greatness before an early demise. I’m a little tired of hearing who played with who, just get to the music. If the music is strong enough, no one will care if you played in Shiner or The String. Name dropping will
probably reel in a few loyal fans, but believing in the music is always better than standing on a namesake. But enough of this soap box.

The Life and Times (hailing from Shiner, Someday I, The String, and Return) have created a moody, brooding debut. Simple yet driving skins keep the melodic
vocals and guitar floating out of the speakers like smoke from a dying fire. It is nice to hear a little influence from the early indie underground. Splashes of R.E.M. before they were R.E.M. can be heard throughout the six songs. The one downer is the sameness between songs. There is no diversity
on this disc and being just an EP, The Life and Times should have made an effort to show their entire creative range. But a great freshman debut from these former members of Shiner, Someday I, The String, and Return.