The Good Life - Black Out (2002) [FLAC] 

  Genre: Rock
  Styles: Indie, Acoustic, Emo, Alternative
  Source: CD
  Codec: FLAC
  Bit rate: ~ 850 kbps
  Bit depth: 16
  Sample rate: 44.1 kHz

  01 Black Out
  02 The Beaten Path
  03 Some Bullshit Escape
  04 O'Rourke's, 1:20 A.M.
  05 Early Out The Gate
  06 The New Denial
  07 Black Out
  08 I Am An Island
  09 Drinking With The Girls
  10 After O'Rourke's, 2:10 A.M.
  11 Empty Bed
  12 Don't Make Love So Hard
  13 Off The Beaten Path
  14 Black Out

  As disparate as debut Novena on a Nocturn was, Black Out is even more courageous. The album employs moodier instrumentation, creating a melancholic disposition that's as discomfiting as it is winsome. Though the record can get quite intense -- and with the stark, dark lyrics of Tim Kasher, often delivered in an eerie baritone, things get quite profound and stay that way even after it's over -- it is definitely the mellowest drama that Kasher has been involved with to date. The '80s feel of the debut resurfaces, especially on the Americana-esque "Off the Beaten Path" and the discordantly memorable "Empty Bed," which suggests the Cure's Robert Smith singing along to a Fixx melody that U2 are playing. While this prominent vibe does rekindle a somewhat nostalgic musing, make no mistake: Black Out is a thoroughly modern invocation possessing a subdued, almost unspoken power that is even more so by being so consciously clear of clutter