I was listening to Because of the Times form start to finish. Track 1 was uninspiring. Tracks 2, 4 and 6 I hated. So cacophonous. I was about to delete the whole album from my playlist on that alone, when something nagged me in the back of my mind--hadn't I heard from a number of people that these guys were supposed to be good? I looked up some reviews online. Yeah, one review even called them "One of the great American rock bands of recent years."
Nonplussed, I continued listening to the rest of the album. I have to say it started winning me over with "True Love Way," and the goodness continued through "Ragoo," "Fans," all the way to "Arizona," which I have to say is pretty great.
Anyway, I stand corrected. I'll even forgive them their tight-ass jeans. ("Forces the blood to my heart," as Hugh Grant quipped in Music & Lyrics).
