It’s easy to get lost in the minutiae of music genres and what defines a band; what they can and can’t be, are and are not, and what makes them “good”. 

Strangely, subjectivity has taken a backseat to this artform. If it’s not pristine, perfect, polished, and full of impressive instrumental or vocal acrobatics, it’s boring. Worse, it’s bad. 

What’s been forgotten is the relatability and the rawness of unbridled emotion and creativity.
So, shelve your lofty spiced rooibos looseleaf tea. Clean and stack your fine china. Hang up the three-piece. Might be best to not twiddle that meticulously trimmed mustache, and for god sake, pocket the monocle. It’s time to grab a PBR and throw on a graphic t-shirt and open-front button down, preferably in some form of plaid or checkered pattern, quickly run your hands back and forth through your hair – the more elegantly disheveled, the better – and hit up a local basement show. 

Former members of the now disbanded instrumental metal act Set And Setting have come together over the last couple years to keep pumping out music with Timelost. Metal has been hung up and traded out for nostalgic garage rock, which holds an emphasis on passion and energy and less on technical ability. It’s a big switch on the spectrum to come from a tightly knit group with dual drummers where timing had to be meticulous, to a loose yet vigorous and grungy style.

Through the past couple albums, the influence of Set and Setting has been fading away from this newer outfit. Buzzy guitar chords replace the ambient and clear riffs, and vocals are strung along at a consistent pace and pitch on their latest endeavor, Drained (Church Road Records). With nods to the likes of nineties Weezer, Dinosaur Jr., and Wavves, Timelost delivers themes of overwhelming responsibility, despair over the state of society and the world, and all the nuances in between that makes you want to burn it all down and start over. What better way to convey them through distorted and crunchy guitar chords?

Packaged by a powerful trio, Timelost has discovered their sound and defined themselves as a band through Drained. So go ahead, jump around a little bit, feel what’s being played, and hear what’s being sung. Not everything needs a perfectly tied bow.

Buy the album here:
https://wearetimelost.bandcamp.com/album/drained

7 / 10
JESSIE FRARY