Customer Reviews

Tragic Boogie (Dig)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

4 years in the making has not turned out to be anything close to disappointing. Tragic Boogie took longer then usual to produce, so the Life and Times made sure it would win us over.

The band has placed a wide range of songs on the album, all of which flow nicely together. From the opener "Que Sera Sera" it's best to turn it up and leave it there. A high energy rocker thats best played while leaving your car windows down on a nice day. To "The Lucid Dream" a more introspective, ambient tune. The album continues to gather speed and demand attention as it progresses, with a great range of hooks, interesting chord progressions, and wonderful melodies. There really isn't a bad tune on here. You can trust the band to deliver quality. Each member of the band really stands out. Huge and powerful drums, bottom-end song shaping bass, and it seems Epley's guitars tie it all together. The guitar tracks are rarely at the for-front, which makes for a smooth blended sound.

I would recommend this album to anyone who is a musician or simply loves music. I can't imagine someone not loving this album if they fall into ether of these categories...

Intrincate. Introspective while describing external things. Epley's own philosophy... The best drummer I've ever listened to... Bass tricks and effects all the time... NOT to be compared to previous TLAT's material. I think that's the best thing from this band: They REALLY make a NEW record every time. And this one is surprising. It assaults you from second 0:01 to the last one. This band is USA's most precious musical treasure.

The Life and Times do a number of things well. As is often said, they sound like a lot more than a three-piece band. They have a true skill for having a "heavy" sound without being "HEAVY" (if that makes sense).

They tried some new things with this album - arrangement and effect wise. Some of it worked better than others, but the majority of the tunes are winners. You can hear a new style coming from this record, however there is still a taste of early era-The Life and Times (see "Old Souls") and even a hint of Shiner (see the bridge on "Tragic Boogie").

Tragic Boogie is a good album by The Life and Times, producing some really splendid additions to their musical catalog with "Confetti", "Que Sera Sera", and "Tragic Boogie". But with the inclusion of some throwaway tracks ("Pain Don't Hurt", "Little 4Notes") and songs that lacked cohesion to the album's overall feel ("The Lucid Dream", "Catching Crumbs") it left the record with holes that should have been filled by something of higher quality. If I could rate this album 3.75 out of 5 I would.

Midwest Shoegaze is how i describe this album. The life and Times have really come into their own. While 'The Flat End of the Earth' ep came off as sounding like a new band working out the growing pains, 'Suburban Hymns' showed the band reaching for something but not quite grasping it and 'The Magician' ep was akin to Lula Divinia era shiner but Tragic Boogie is a complete masterpiece. It's unlike anything i've ever heard and i notice something new every time i listen to it. This album is solid from start to finish. Definitely check it out. It can be extremely intense but it also floats along from track to track. The driving force of this album is definitely the drums and bass but allen epley's vocals and guitar blend in so well. A truly amazing album. Also, if you think the album is overproduced, go see them live. How they pull off such a massive sound while being a 3 piece is incredible.

This is a lot more challenging than their previous stuff. The arrangements are odd. Like having the vocal tracks sometimes in the background, and heavily effected/distorted, while the guitar patterns are in the foreground - it's the aural equivalent of almost having to squint to see something. Relatedly, this album is very visual for me. The effects and production and spatial arrangements give it a darkly colorful atmosphere for me. Almost abstract. (I'm a painter, and this album has given me a bunch of new painting ideas.) And it gets better and better the more you listen. All told, I think it's a breakthrough for them. They seemed to care about the abstract sounds as much as the bones/structure of the songs. They're in new territory, and they're doing a lot of exploration. The formula's not yet completely worked out. But that's all to the good, and I hope they make 100 more albums.

1. Que Sera Sera- 7/10
2. Fall of the Angry Clowns- 8/10
3. Let It Eat- 8/10
4. Old Souls- 9/10
5. Dull Knives- 8/10
6. Pain Don't Hurt-8.5/10
7. Confetti- 9/10
8. The Lucid Dream- 8/10
9. Tragic Boogie- 7.5/10
10. The Politics of Driving- 10/10
11. Catching Crumbs- 8/10
12. Little 4Notes- 8.5/10

The Life and Times are the Post-Shiner project of Allen Epley. Overall The Life and Times sounds like a combination of Early Shiner and Later Shiner. The first two Shiner albums were firmly rooted in early/Mid-90s Midwestern Post-hardcore along the lines of Season to Risk, Molly McGuire, and Giant's Chair. The final two Shiner albums keep that Midwestern Post-Hardcore sound as a base and added a bit of Shoegaze, Pyschadelica, Math-Rock, and even a little Post-Rock. Shiner Peeked with their final and most experimental release The Egg. The Life and Times took the best elements of their first two albums (Splay and Lula Divinia) and the best elements of their final album (The Egg) and combined them. They have been building on that sound with each release.

With Tragic Boogie The Life and Times continue to move away from the post-hardcore Midwestern-Emo sound in the direction of a more Progressive Experimental Style. On Tragic Boogie you can hear elements of Shoegaze, Pyschadelica, Math-Rock, Mid-90s style Mid-Western Emo, and Post-Rock. The music is effects driven. It's swirling, ambient, and at times driving. The vocals use heavy reverb. Although the vocal style fits the music it confuses me, because Allen Epley has such a good voice. Tragic Boogie is not an easily accessible album. But like any Allen Epley album if you are patient with it you will be rewarded.

The song by song review is 83%, but the album flows well so it receives an 86% overall.


Similar Artists/Influences: Season to Risk, Shiner, Giant's Chair, Riddle of Steel, Traindodge, My Bloddy Valentine, National Skyline, Molly Mcguire, Sideshow, Slowdive, Ride, Chapterhouse, Year of the Rabbit, Failure, Pink Floyd

As expected, the Life and Times delivers sonically with an overall sound that is similar to their older album, but fresh and refined. I see it as a progression from the sound of lead man Allen Epley's old band Shiner. The songwriting is good, but not stellar, while the musicianship is impressive, especially in the drummer, Chris Metcalf.

Definitely a good album.

This long-awaited album really takes it up a notch from Suburban Hymns. Anyone who gives this album 2 listens will really fall in love with it. The sleeper hit on this one is "the Politics of Driving". A great builder. The title track is good, but I think "Let it Eat" and "Que Sera Sera" steal the show, if the latter is perhaps a bit too short of a song. The chorus in "Fall of the Angry Clowns" is quite possibly the biggest, boldest and most amazing music that has ever flowed out of Allen Epley's brain.

The most tragic thing about this is that so few people will actually get a chance to hear it. As good as it sounds on your stereo, though, it sounds 10x better when you are immersed in the live sound of this band. GO SEE THEM LIVE! They tour almost constantly, so unless you live at the tip of Maine, you have no excuse. It will be well worth your time and money.

THE LIFE AND TIMES is modern rock.
Boom.
TRAGIC BOOGIE is a rock masterwork that shakes the soul and sticks to the cerebellum like sweet brain candy. Filled with catchy hooks, fuzzy guitars, and big drums; the tracks weave around a musical sound scape with an epic urgency mostly unheard of in music today. ALLEN EPLEY is a hell of a songwriter, and with BOOGIE he has outdone himself times infinity. The sweet, sweeping melodies of this record ponder the themes of life and death with a unmatched spirit of how modern rock music SHOULD be written and executed. ERIC ABERT is a riff machine on bass, and CHRIS METCALF is a simply awesome on drums, rounding out EPELY's echoing, ghostlike guitar work and ethereal vocal styling beautifully.
THE shining soundtrack for the summer of 2009, and a true rock classic for years to come, TRAGIC BOOGIE is brilliant.

This is a good album for sure. I can't help feeling the songwriting isn't as sharp as on previous releases though. The second half especially seems to all blur together- I've had it a few weeks and still can't remember any standouts past the halfway point. They seem to have gone for a more laid back sound with the whole thing being covered in a thick wash of guitars and distorted vocals. That said, it does reward repeated listenings and there are certainly great songs there. Just maybe not the classic I was hoping for.