Help Wanted Nights was the first Good Life album I bought, but was maybe not the introduction to the band I needed at the time. I was (and still am) a big fan of Cursive, so wanted to check out Tim's other work. In 2008 I bought three The Good Life albums between April and December - Album of the Year is my favourite of the three and neither this or Black Out particularly struck me. Both have bars and heartbreak as a common theme, but that could be said about a lot of Tim Kasher's albums (after seeing him play a solo set at Fest whilst blind-drunk does make me believe the stories a bit more).
On the Picket Fence is slow starter, but A Little Bit More pick up the pace and has a nice and memorable chorus. As with almost all of Tim's albums, there's a song I'd skip every time if this was a cd; in this case it's Keely Aimee. As with Album of the Year, the female backing vocals add a lot throughout - even if it's just a whisper like in You Don't Feel Like Home to Me (one of the strongest songs on the album). A lot of the songs finish abruptly - it seems like an intentional device, but I'm not sure to what end. The closer Rest Your Head is another highlight and has some of Tim's best vocals.
I found this copy in Generation Records in New York on my first trip there (my second was two days later). I knew I wanted to hear the band and figured it was as good a place as any to start. Also the exchange rate was ridiculous at the time - for £8 a pop I'd buy pretty much anything. I think it's fair to say I was disappointed when I first played it because it was so far from Cursive, but now I know what the band are like I can see the album in its own right. I obviously enjoyed it enough to get two more albums, although I think that might have been for other reasons - I knew Album of the Year was the most renowned one, and Black Out was £2 for the cd - I clearly bought that because it was so cheap.
Format: 12", insert
Tracks: 10
Cost: £7.59 new
Bought: Generation Records, New York
When: 11/04/08
Colour: White
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code
