Album Review: The Life And Times - Day II b/w Day III

After building up an impressive repertoire of diverse releases throughout the last few years, the Kansas City based rock outfit, The Life And Times, have returned with a two track EP, ‘Day II b/w Day III’.

‘Day II’ opens with a deceptively ambient, yet heavily distorted guitar part that at first seems to set quite a dark and moody tone. As soon as the fast paced drums kick in you’re thrown into a rhythm and sound that’s almost psychedelic; a bizarre effect on the vocals and a thumping bass line make this song a little unusual, but in a good way. The song switches between atmospheric verses and heavy breaks throughout and ends in the same way in which it began.

‘Day III’ immediately reflects a very different feel to the previous track. Whilst the beginning utters that same ambient tone, this track adopts a more chilled out pace. This track explores various effects and tones with the music and the vocals seem to have more of an impact; it’s a stark contrast to the first track, and in my opinion, has more of an edge. This EP of two halves shows both sides of the bands songwriting ability; a mixture of ambience, raw power and atmosphere create two very different, but very interesting tracks.

Whether you consider this EP to be a bit of an experiment, or whether you believe this is their finest work, the band certainly fuel a sense of intrigue. Having checked out a number of their previous releases, ‘Day II b/w Day III’ continue the trend of creating beautifully sophisticated songs that leave you eagerly anticipating the bands next venture.

3.5/5

‘Day II b/w Day III’ by The Life And Times is available now through Hawthorne Street Records.

Sandeep Dawett