5 out of 5

Label: DeSoto Records

Produced by: J. Robbins

With Mr. Robbins’ name on this disc, we can probably predict that there’ll be some Jawbox happening here.  And there is: soaring guitars with quick percussive interplay; the passionate but never shouted vocals; the lack of verse-chorus-verse…  But we’re also not dealing with young scenesters here, as lead Allen Epley had already well established his capabilities in Shiner, so he’s come by the Jawbox influences via a longer route, as well as having worked with J. in that group as well.

So we’ll start with Shiner, an emo-esque guitar rock group, and make our assumptions there.  Again, the ties are undeniable.  But where Shiner may have internally dug into a song, rocking it in the ground, the Epley of The Life and Times seems to have his eyes skyward, adding shimmering layers of reverb onto every track to lift the sound up, even as the chords progress at a patient pace, Epley taking his time to deliver effective but not showy metaphors.  ‘Suburban Hymns’ ends up being one of the richest albums Robbins has ever produced, and though my ears wanted to turn this into a Jawbox knockoff, it’s far from it.  Every track has a soul; every track has a breakout moment, whether it’s right from the start – as with opener ‘My Last Hostage’s beat, or something that’s drawn out of the lyrics, like when the imagery of ‘Muscle Cars’ comes together.  It’s a sneaky experience.  On the surface, the album doesn’t have the most memorable hooks or a lead singer who ropes you in, but days later, that track you’re singing is a Life and Times one.

In trying to think of criticisms for the disc and realizing I had none, I shrugged, and accepted that this something-something-Shiner-Jawbox incarnation had shown me up and delivered a downright addictive, affecting album.