Begin: Crickets. All right. That's cool. I can respect that. Wait, now what's this? Bells? Clocks? Ticking? Did I accidentally put in a Floyd album? Wait, here's some acoustic. That's not Floyd. Wait... that melody sounds like Radiohead... first track down and already off to a good start.

So I attempted a bit of research on the Subcons before I dove into this review, and in doing so, I realized that no one must know who they are (or I'm really bad a research (which is quite possible)). Not even the ungodly popular and beloved Pitchspork took the time to even listen (okay, I don't actually know that) to Time Has Come, despite it having been around for over three years now. Sure, it may not be the greatest album of the decade or anything, but god damn, I, of all people, was inspired by it enough to write a review (which, as some may know, isn't an everyday occurrence).

"The music of the Subcons does not differ terribly from the playful musings of the Shins or the Unicorns," says the little flier that came with the disc, "but also maintains a youthful, desperate expounding—as was mastered by Weezer and Radiohead." I suppose, if anyone, I should trust the band's own flier, but I feel they understated themselves a bit. I certainly can see all which they mentioned, but that's not all. More so than any of said artists, they seem to not be afraid to experiment. From the previously depicted experience of the first track, "Preludio," to the Books-esque spoken samples intermittently dispersed throughout the soothing acoustics of "Head From Home," to the perfectly mixed half-backwards "Postludio." And yet, even still, it embodies the '90s pop simplicity of my childhood (yes, I'm that young), with a wonderfully sprawling range. From the fast-paced distorted guitar work of the post '80s metal bands like Pearl Jam on "When I Was 13," to alternative rockings of Third Eye Blind on "Four Girls" and "Sheila Kennedy." But there's more: Spanish flamenco guitar on "Don't Wanna" and vaguely Bush sounding grunge on "24 Hours."

Lots of nice acoustic, some good solid melodies, and overall a smooth upbeat pop reminiscent of, yes, the Shins. I will be looking forward to their next release, due out sometime this year (2004), if I have figured their site correctly.

Also, all of the tracks below without a title are four second blank tracks on the disc, so that the track list begins at 6 and goes through 18, "...starting with sunrise at 6am and ending with sunset at 6pm (or, 18:00)," explains their website. (With a "hidden track" at the end).