It's Immaterial - Life's Hard and Then You Die

It's Immaterial has qualities that can't be discerned from one listen, at least on the band's debut LP, Life's Hard and Then You Die. Patience is really needed to let this record's oddball hooks kick in. Musically, the LP is all over the place -- new wave, country, blues, folk, and synth pop. Somehow the smorgasbord of styles works, because the bandmembers aren't being eclectic just for the sake of it; they simply have a wide canvas, keeping the album fresh from beginning to end. The CD adds three bonus cuts -- the gripping "Washing the Air" and different versions of "Ed's Funky Diner" and "Driving Away From Home."

01. Driving Away From Home (Jim's Tune)
02. Happy Talk
03. Rope
04. The Better Idea
05. Space
06. The Sweet Life
07. Festival Time
08. Ed's Funky Dinner
09. Hang on Sleepy Town
10. Lullaby
11. Washing the Air
12. Ed's Funky Dinner (The Keinholz Caper)
13. Driving Away From Home (I Mean After All Its Only 'Dead Man's Curve')