Whether a band's growth should mirror life's mundane progress is a question that was pondered long before the formation of this D.C. quartet. But one tends to whorishly prefer the high-speed sugar rushes from the first time around over Nick Stumpf's expertly white-soul falsetto and the Kicks' laudable synth handling of Eighties frailty (not excess) on this set. So The Trial of the Century is a borderline sophomore slump, and its songs' heart lines fall into a slow-dance blur by track four or five or ten, which may not be enough to keep you around for the punchy closer, "Better Time." Then again, the zone-out is half the ride.