Good Life

The Good Life’s second album, Black Out, asks the question of "What if Kid A was written by Wilco instead of Radiohead?” It contains the heart of Wilco and the soul of the new Radiohead, but without sounding completely ridiculous. The music blends feel good alt-country pop with electronic programming and obscure instrumentation. Tim Kasher’s voice is part Jeff Tweedy and part Joel Plaskett, with constant strains of loneliness and despair. Black Out is a unique pop record with many beautiful moments and many different emotions. "O’Rourke’s, 1:20 a.m.” shows this immediately, opening with the line "It’s different when you’re lonely and the whole world’s in love,” as does its kin "After O’Rourke’s, 2:10 a.m.” Though it takes a few minutes to get used to, the synthesisers and sequencers become comfortable and really make the music something extraordinary. Electro alt-country? Maybe this band is on to something here.