http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/l/life-and-times/suburban-hymns.shtml
I still stand by my original (p)review of L&T back on July 30th. Hit the July 2005 archive to read about my favorite cd from this year.
PFM says this about Life and Times: "The chemistry between the band's members is easy to hear, but it seems like a heavy shrug of the shoulders compared to the boundaries pushed during the last days of Shiner."
Lets see...how did PFM review these last two Shiner cds?
ShinerStarless[Owned and Operated; 2000]Rating: 3.2
"Only Allen Epley remains from the band's original 1995 lineup, and what he's surrounded himself with is testament to why everyone else left this band. Their bassist doubles with Season to Risk, their guitarist hails from the endlessly tacky grunge-metal act Glazed Baby, and their new drummer comes to us from Epic Records' resident failures Molly McGuire. Groundbreaking post-grunge acts like this should give an indication of what these combined noggins came up with for Starless. It's almost as believable as Sugar Ray and it rocks as hard as Soundgarden (who don't rock at all, in case you came here by accident)."
ShinerThe Egg[DeSoto; 2001]Rating: 7.4
"If there's a criticism you could level at Shiner, it's perhaps that despite the obvious attempts to diversify their sound, they still come off a little monochromatic-- their brand of precise, jagged rock can get a little numbing. Otherwise, Shiner are a pretty good bet if you're looking for some dark, rough post-grunge to accompany your allotted brooding time. Just don't come looking for sunshine. "
I give two thumbs down to PFM for the double use of "post-grunge" and the middle finger to yet another middle of the road PFM 7.4 rating for Allen Eply. I have 8 more fingers ( out of a possible ten, duh) to give to "Suburban Homes".
9 it is.
