As a response to the dominance of in the U.K. and their own decreasing profile in their homeland -- and also as a response to 's sudden popularity -- reinvented themselves with their second album, , abandoning the and baggy influences that dominated for . On the surface, may appear to be an homage to , , and , yet it isn't a restatement, it's a revitalization. use British from to as a foundation, spinning off tales of contemporary despair. If weren't such a clever songwriter, both lyrically and melodically, could have sunk under its own pretensions, and the latter half does drag slightly. However, the record teems with life, since refuse to treat their classicist songs as museum pieces. 's guitar tears each song open, either with unpredictable melodic lines or layers of translucent, hypnotic effects, and his work creates great tension with ' kinetic bass. And that provides a vibrant background for his social satires and cutting commentary. But the reason is such a dynamic record and ushered in a new era of British is that nearly every song is carefully constructed and boasts a killer melody, from the stately and the punky to the stomp of and the Even with its flaws, it's a record of considerable vision and excitement. [Most American versions of substitute the demo version of for the studio version on the British edition. They also add the superb single before the final song, ] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine