February 4, 2014 • Enemies List Home Recordings
It seems like Have a Nice Life's debut Deathconsciousness was the talk of the town for ages after it came out, and the hype level for their second album has been nearly as high. Though I thought it sounded like something I'd be into at first, I couldn't really get into their first album much, and it doesn't seem like much has changed this time around.
Stylistically, Have a Nice Life toes the line between dreamy, murky shoegaze and noisy ambient, with some dark and clanky industrial beats underlying much of it and the occasional post-punk grooving. It's an interesting mix (albeit not too original in this day and age). I definitely like the more rock-like songs better ("Defenestration Song", "Unholy Life", and "Dan and Tim" remind me of maybe a more modern The Cure), although "Music Will Untune the Sky" has a great majestic droning feel to it that sets it apart.
On the whole, the album feels like the sort of music that wants to feel epic, and begs to be played loudly and consume the listener's space, but it's not really as compelling as it wishes it could be. There are plenty of solid ideas and the execution is decent, but I don't think enough of the songs are particularly strong, and it feels like Have a Nice Life doesn't have a clear picture of where they wanted to take some of their ideas, leaving a lot of the tracks to just kind of wander around aimlessly.
Don't read too much into that paragraph, though. It's definitely not a bad album, and I'd be okay with spinning it a few more times casually. But it hasn't quite won me over in the same way it's done to a lot of people. Maybe I need to back and listen to Deathconsciousness again, or just wait for their next installment.
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