Omaha lifer Tim Kasher fronts The Good Life for a fourth album and whips up more emotionally expensive alt-country tunes. Dominated by a gangly acoustic guitar and frail drums backing Kasher's forever-teenager vocal strain, Help Wanted Nights is a Gen-X cowboy-style bar room introspection. It's a downer, but a good ride nonetheless.
A theme of western blues drives Help Wanted Nights. With song titles like "Heartbroke", "Your Share of Men", and "So Let Go", it's pretty easy to tell just from looking at the back cover what kind of mess you're getting into. But where Nashville would cover these tracks in over-production, The Good Life holds back and leaves the arrangement sparse. A frail acoustic guitar and soft snare lead the album off on "On the Picket Fence" while Kasher croons "Either you love me or you leave me/Don't you leave me on this picket fence". "You Don't Feel Like Home To Me" is a quiet rambler where guitars splash a pattering snare and moping bass. "So Let Go" drags soft spikes of guitar along at a tired horse pace. With a worn-down energy, Help Wanted Nights is just about a true-to-life picture of a western bar with a few heads sunk.
Kasher & company create a mesmerizing image of depression in the great wide open on Help Wanted Nights. It's perfect for night-time laments or just a little mental reprieve. The music acts as the vocals' buddy, not trying to give too-strong advice or ruin any moments. It's intentionally quiet at times, and, thus, it feels deeply sincere and genuinely executed.
