The Good Life - Novena on a Nocturn
Better Looking Records
Tim Kasher, the world owes you a great debt for suffering as much as you
have and still being able to contribute some of the best, most heartfelt
and emotional music ever written. On one hand, I feel awful for
enjoying one man's sorrow and pain so much. Is it okay to love music that
was written out of such personal experiences? I feel like I am invading
Tim Kasher's room and reading his journal without him knowing; to sum this
up in one phrase -- this shit is amazing. No one writes better, more raw
lyrics ["The guilt slips from our lips / confessions hidden behind
eyelids"; "I'll try to describe the way that it felt, to tell my own Mother
her son is a failure"; "What we really want is...just over that hill / And
the more I learn, the less I try to climb"]. The music itself is just as
creative and moving. I can't decide which I like more: the unadulterated
power of Cursive, or the tense, brooding arrangements of The Good
Life. Both sound fantastic, both have their high peaks and sweeping
valleys [just listen to "Your Birthday Present" or "What We Fall For When
We're Already Down"], and both take full advantage of Tim Kasher's
incredible lyricism. I probably sound silly, spending so much time just
talking about how good these lyrics are, but that's just it: in a society
of 4th rate, watered-down "emo", generic skate-punk, and pointless spazzy
hardcore [not to mention mainstream music -- ugh], The Good Life shines
like the brightest star in the night sky.
...scott heisel...
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