Artist: Time And Energy
Album: Strange Kind of Focus
Genre: Indie, Experimental, Rock, Jam
For fans of: Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground, Beck, RX Bandits

Santa Ana, California has a population of nearly 330,000 people and is located in the Greater Los Angeles Area. It’d be very difficult to pick out two specific, ordinary looking guys in a crowd of that many people, but if each of them, alone or in groups, made the best sounds they were capable of, experimental rock duo Time And Energy may very likely stand out the most. Jorge Rios and Brennan Roach have created a record that can quite simply be noted as “beautiful bedlam,” much like that massive population or a box of chock-lets; seemingly endless variety confined to one place.

The pair’s newest LP, Strange Kind Of Focus, is hectic as mentioned but it’s just as harmonious. Blending beautiful vocal melodies with several instruments played by both members and intricate looping techniques, Time And Energy have managed to take one part live performance, one part pre-recorded loops and samples, and two parts creative talent to craft an album that is uniquely chaotic in the best way possible. If you didn’t know any better, you’d very likely assume there were at least four members in Time And Energy upon listening to Strange Kind Of Focus.

The biggest, and maybe only, downfall of the album is the length. It’s unfortunately a brief 28 minutes shared between 10 tracks. Songs like “Split Clean” and “Think It Through” are less than two minutes a piece. However, most tracks manage to feel full and complete despite the brief experience, but as a whole, it would fair well with a bit more length. Couldn’t we all?

Luckily, at three minutes and thirty-one seconds, “Hot Air,” which is one of the album’s strongest tracks, is also its longest. It’s a solid opener which displays much of the band’s strong points with added saxophone and clarinet by Patrick Takashi Shiroishi. The effort’s seventh offering is my personal favorite. “Sitting On a Scale” boasts a very composed, focused and less frantic side of the duo with a dreamy, mellow melody and impressively mature lyrics. “Sitting On A Scale” may be the only track on Strange Kind Of Focus that I truly wish were much longer. “Da Da Da” is the most desultory song on the release but it’s oh so groovy and enjoyable, and much like some of the later tracks like “O’Molly” and “Acid Jam,” it contains more of a bluesy rock vibe reminiscent of The Black Keys and troupes of their ilk — with some added flair of course.

Ultimately, childhood friends Jorge Rios and Brennan Roach have joined forces to create one of the best hidden gems released in 2012. Had I been lucky enough to have heard it upon release, it would have easily made my top ten of the year. Strange Kind Of Focus is the perfect name for this album. At its core, it’s very unusual but it’s put together in a masterful way to where all of its parts work cohesively regardless of how different all those parts may be. I for one cannot wait to experience the progression on their next piece.

You can stream Strange Kind Of Focus in its entirety below via Bandcamp and view Time And Energy’s video for “Hot Air” as well.

SCORE: 9.5/10

Review written by: Brian Lion – Follow him on Twitter

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Brian Leak

Editor-In-Chief. King of forgetting drinks in the freezer. Pop culture pack rat. X-Phile. LOST apologist.

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