If I had to pick a more schizophrenic band than these guys I’d be hard pressed. Throughout the course of their career they’ve veered from being genius (The Autumn Wind is a Pirate) to the most pointless field recordings of them vacuuming (which goes on for over 5 minutes). I’m pleased to say they seem to have gotten around to trimming the fat with this one. Without question they have grown more focused and dedicated towards realizing that because a CD contains almost 80 minutes of music doesn’t mean it needs to all be filled.
Lyrically it is surreal without succumbing to cheesy artsy clichés. The inclusion of Carla Kihlstedt on the opener “Sun Dies” is a great choice. She gives an anchor to the song’s strange rhythm. Even though the music is definitely in progressive rock mode, it avoids the usual rehashing they do. If you’re looking for blatant genre rip offs, that’s not here. “Blue Cheadle” and “Disenchantment” nicely complement each other.
Yeah, they haven’t given up their theatrical tendencies. That is in full force in songs like “According to the Spiral” and the closer “Your Weak Heart”. The latter shifts dramatically from ballad to pleasant freak out. But the best freak out comes right before this.
“Humanizing the Distance” sounds positively intoxicated. Horns feel elastic, and the guitars seem to be racing each other. Nothing here makes sense and the outro sort of watches as all this built up madness slowly recedes in terms of volume.
I’m glad that they made this. After following them for so long, it is refreshing to see that they’ve finally put out an album that can help expand their appeal without ruining those excesses that make them so enjoyable in the first place.