Without identifying who it was, made his mood clear with by including a farewell letter in the liner notes to the lover who had dumped him. Kicking things off with the snaky, almost guttural later made a theme song for 's , lives up to the confused, fractured message in that letter, turning into his own exorcism. On the one hand, he doesn't sound any less impassioned than before, but on the other, those who have criticized him for seeming to concentrate on the surface of his influences rather than the depths would probably find themselves outfoxed here. There's a stronger energy and fiercer edge to the music, as moodily beautiful as ever, to be sure, but cutting just a little more close to the bone, with even the quiet moments -- check the heartbreaking title track -- sounding truly lost and forlorn. 's drums hit with a harder energy in the louder moments, the more upbeat melodies have that much more of an incongruously jaunty feeling when set against the often-eviscerating lyrics, as directed as much against himself as the lost love in question. Still, the mysterious departed figure is clearly the main target, and songs like and leave little doubt where things are headed, while practically explodes with bitterness, 's lyrics lashing out against "the happy people" around him. The instrumental range on carries over here, but with a newer emphasis on rougher edges mixed with quieter deliveries and arrangements -- a seemingly odd balance, but one that punctuates the sheen of 's earlier work with aplomb, as well as forecasting ahead toward . again is the production ear behind it all, and credit to him for helping make sure those chances get taken. ~ Ned Raggett