recorded while auditioning 's replacement, so it's unfair to criticize it, really, for being longer on grooves and jams than songs, especially since that's what's good about it. Yes, the two songs that are undeniable highlights are and the album's two and, therefore, the two that had to be written and arranged, not knocked out in the studio; they're also the ones that don't quite make as much sense, though they still work in the context of the record. No, this is all about groove and sound, as work into their fabric. And the remarkable thing is, apart from there's little straight-ahead here. They play with extensively, less so, making both sound like integral parts of ' lifeblood. Apart from the , there might not be many memorable tunes, but there are times that you listen to just to hear them play, and this is one of them. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine