Well, if you just had your biggest hit ever, you'd probably try to replicate it, too. And if you were praised for being visionary because you played all your grooves to a slightly sequenced beat, you'd probably be tempted to not just continue in that direction, but to tighten the sequencer and graft on synthesizers, since it'll all signal how futuristic you are. While you're at it, you might visualize how space age this all is by turning your signature car into a space shuttle. If you look at things that way, then , 's follow-up to their blockbuster , makes sense -- they're just giving the people more of what they want. Problem is, no matter how much you dress up, they're still . Sometimes they can trick you into thinking they're a little flashier than usual, but they're still a lil' ol' band from Texas, kicking out blues-rockers. And just doesn't kick when it's synthesized, even if 's grooves always bordered on robotic. So, , their most synthetic album, will not please most fans, even if it did go platinum several time over and reached number four. That's all just a sign of the times, when even bands had to sound as slick as , complete with clanging DX-7s and cavernous drums. As an artifact of that time, is pretty good -- never has a album sounded so artificial, nor has a nominal album sounded so devoid of . Apart from the chugging not even the singles sound like (though is a blatant rewrite): the terrific post- rocker is the poppiest thing they ever cut, the is far removed from slow , and the full-fledged synth of is a true mind-bender. All this means that is merely a product of its time -- the only record could have made at the time, but it hardly exists out of that time. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine