(Arena Rock)

www.arenarock.com

The Life and Times might seem a wordy band. Not only did the Kansas City indie-rock trio name its new album Tragic Boogie -- a description sure to tempt reviewers -- but it also provided a subtitle: "12 Songs About the Sun and Love and Death." What these midtempo stompers are really about, though, is sound. Fat thunder-clouds of it, charged with reverberation and moist with overtones.

The album's second half is less stormy, allowing guitarist Allen Epley's vocals more prominence. "Waterboard myself to sleep" is one line that pokes out from "The Lucid Dream," whose drowsy vibe is typical of the later tracks. But the highlights are such earlier songs as "Fall of the Angry Clowns" (yup, wordy) and "Dull Knives." They're characterized by impressive depth of field, dizzying changes in sonic emphasis and a bracing disregard for hierarchal arrangements. Instruments switch roles, rhythm takes the lead, everything bleeds into everything else and the downshifts are just as thrilling as the crescendos.

Of course, this has been done before -- is it time for the My Bloody Valentine reference yet? -- and the album trails off disappointingly in its second half. The squall ends too soon, but Tragic Boogie is invigorating while it rages.

Standout Tracks: "Fall of the Angry Clowns," "Dull Knives" MARK JENKINS