Though it’s hardly heavy metal, The Life Pursuit marks a clear break from the band’s gossamer past. The songs are fully fleshed out, and in places, verging on muscular, while delivering the wry, off-kilter hooks that form the foundation for B&S’s entire oeuvre. And “The Blues are Still Blue” ranks with the Pretenders’ “Watching the Clothes” among the best songs ever to be set inside a laundromat.