The Good Life

Lovers Need Lawyers (2004)

Scott Heisel

Tim Kasher's side project returns with six new songs that are a complete left-turn for The Good Life up to this point. These songs are more pop, more concise, and more catchy than most everything Kasher has thrown the band's way in the past two albums.

Novena On A Nocturn was heavy on the melancholy, which made it a fine listen, but when it came to pop songwriting, no way. Black Out was heavy on electronic experimentation, and as such, many of the songs suffered. But with Lovers Need Lawyers, the material has taken a dramatic shift towards the "toe-tapping" genre of indie-pop.

Many of the songs have instantly singalongable choruses, such as the title track with it's refrain of "Oooooh, lovers need lawyers." "Friction" is as punk rock as the band's ever been, with a neat samba-esque beat driving the verses before the song roars open in the chorus, with Kasher yelling "FRICTIOOOOON!" at the top of his lungs. It rocks.

The storytelling aspect that Kasher has developed since Cursive's rebirth in 2000 and the subsequent start of The Good Life continues in the same self-deprecating lyrical style. "Leaving Omaha" is about his life from high school graduation through divorce, leaving no stone unturned. "Entertainer" could have easily been a lyrical outtake from Cursive's The Ugly Organ, with lines like "I'm not an artist I'm an asshole" and the chorus of "Entertain us / entertain us / give the people what they want."

The record ties up with the Built To Spill-meets-early Wilco jamout of "For The Love Of The Song." It's 6 minutes show me that The Good Life has moved out of it's early growing stages into a full-fledged band. Only more good things will come from this outfit.

MP3s
Always A Bridesmaid
Leaving Omaha [clip]
For The Love Of The Song [clip]