The Life and Times Bring New Album to Cafe du Nord Tonight
Space rock is alive and well in Kansas City, Missouri. For those looking for a little more substance to their daily feed and a little less garage that sounds like it was recorded in a garage, look no further. The Life and Times are here to turn it up and dial it in.
Formed in 2003, The Life and Times isn’t out to prove anything. Guitarist Allen Epley, bassist Eric Abert and drummer Chris Metcalf haven’t developed a new genre nor are they chomping at the bit of the twee/pop/electro/garage revival.
What they do is create significantly weighty rock songs in the mid -tempo range reminiscent of the decade before their formation but paired with a shroud of droned consistency that runs through each song. The vocal lines interact in stark contrast with the layered and constant melody lines, creating yet another level of bulk to grasp on to. Overall the songs are just that—graspable, thick and heavy. And for a band that has toured with the likes of Pelican, Mono, Pinback, Russian Circles, Boris and The Appleseed Cast, it seems that their audience is ever-expanding. With the January 17 release of their latest, No One Loves You Like I Do (SlimStyle), they are on the fast track to becoming a peer of these groups as opposed to a supporting act.
These bands are also a great indicator of the type of space rock The Life and Times are doling out. This is no light-hearted woo-woo rock to zone out to after a couple of gravity bong hits. This is heavy as fuck rock to blow a cone in your speaker to. This is no passing fad, The Life and Times are here to stay.
The Life and Times play Café du Nord Monday, January 23. Doors are at 8:30, tickets are $12 and Time Spent Driving provide support.
Photo credit: Drew Reynolds
