From the outset, The Good Life make no promises or outlandish claims. Their simple, DIY artwork and earnest band photo and bio suggest nice, honest, uncomplicated music, and upon pressing play that’s exactly what you get. With their brand of guitar folk pop, I’d bet they get likened to Bright Eyes a lot, and they’re probably sick of that by now, ‘Help Wanted Nights’ being their fourth album. Personally, I’d liken them to Belle and Sebastian and Deathcab for Cutie before ever trying to box them in with Oberst. After being slightly underwhelmed by opening tracks ‘On the Picket Fence’ and ‘A Little Bit More’, I’m so glad I carried on listening, to discover such gems as ‘So Let Go’ and ‘You Don’t Feel Like Home To Me’. All in all, a solidly good album, led strongly by Tim Kasher’s fantastically calm vocal, backed up by a band of clearly very talented musicians. ‘So Let Go’ is lo-fi heartbreak for anyone who’s ever been a bit sad, marginally happy, or considerably confused. It’s the sort of song that plays when the kooky girl has broken up with her geek-chic boyfriend because of a hilarious misunderstanding. It would definitely be reprised when they get back together, prompting audiences to cry like babies. Seriously, though, this is the stand out track because it shouldn’t be, it’s quiet, has absolutely no ‘hook’ and because of this, burrows deeply and darkly into your soul. If every song on the album was this good, it’d be a 10/10, easily. This album is supremely listenable, a nice warm wave of bittersweet lyricism and jangly guitars that would just as easily suit a dusty roadtrip as a lazy Sunday in bed. That’s right, guys, this is definite soundtrack music. Not Bruckheimer soundtrack or Greengrass soundtrack. This is the soundtrack to that weird indie flick you watched last summer with the boy with the funky hair and stripy jumper. This is the soundtrack to the melancholy moments in your head. For me, it’s the soundtrack to lonely cigarette breaks and could well become my Autumn album, it certainly suits leaf-kicking and long scarves. Lovely, bittersweet, affecting.
Rating: 8/10
Author: Becca Day-Preston
