Following up was never going to be easy for . There was so much positive reaction from music fans, the press, from everywhere, really, that almost any move made was bound to be seen as inferior, or at the very least, flawed in some way. To his credit, he doesn't try to do anything dramatically different on . There are no attempts to hit the top of the charts (a point made crystal clear in the song ); conversely, there are no attempts to dirty up the sound or make it more challenging. There are no radically new elements added to the sound, nothing subtracted either. is definitely a savvy enough musician to know when things have gotten stale and need to be changed up; he at some point must have decided (correctly) that the time for a reboot hadn't arrived yet for . Another record of long, dancefloor friendly disco-fied jams mixed with punchy rockers and paced with a couple introspective midtempo ballads is still perfectly acceptable, especially when it's as tightly arranged, energetically played, and thoughtfully constructed as is. s highly skilled production is all over the record, from the squelchy layers of synths, the dry punch of the drums, and the tricks and surprises that bring the songs to life, to the way he makes it sound like a live band when it's just him (though there are the occasional people helping out, most notably on backing vocals). And while there isn't a song as staggeringly emotional as 's or as simply and heartfelt as its N.Y.C. tribute continues to expand as a songwriter and lyricist. He's still the master of deadly zingers ("Eat it Michael Musto/You're no Bruce Vilanch") and hilarious streams of lyrical gems (all of ), but songs like the nakedly emotional (which includes the sweetly romantic plea for someone to "bore me and hold me and cling to my arm") and the insistently melancholy show continued growth and impressive range. Of course, if you aren't all that interested in lyrics, artistic growth, and feelings, you can just crank up songs like or real loud and dance. At heart, remains a dance music producer and these tracks reveal him at the top of his game. doesn't quite reach the monumental heights of , but it serves as an almost-there companion and further proof that is one of the most exciting and interesting bands around in the 2000s. ~ Tim Sendra