On 's debut, the tensions between and propelled their music to great, unexpected heights, and for most of the group's second album, , the band equals, if not surpasses, those expectations. However, there are a handful of moments where those tensions become unbearable, as when wants to move toward texture and wants to stay in more conventional rock territory; the nine-minute "The Bogus Man" captures such creative tensions perfectly, and it's easy to see why left the group after the album was completed. Still, those differences result in yet another extraordinary record from , one that demonstrates even more clearly than the debut how avant-garde ideas can flourish in a pop setting. This is especially evident in the driving singles "Do the Strand" and "Editions of You," which pulsate with raw energy and jarring melodic structures. also illuminate the slower numbers, such as the eerie "In Every Dream Home a Heartache," with atonal, shimmering synthesizers, textures that were unexpected and innovative at the time of its release. Similarly, all of walks the tightrope between the experimental and the accessible, creating a new vocabulary for rock bands, and one that was exploited heavily in the ensuing decade. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine