If was an unabashedly pretentious affair, it looks positively lighthearted in comparison to 's sophomore effort, , one of the most doggedly serious albums ever recorded. This is an album where the only up-tempo track, the only trifle -- the cheerfully stiff white- -- was added at the insistence of the label because they believed there wasn't a cut on the record that could be pulled as a single, one that would break down the doors to mainstream radio. And they were right, since everything else here is too measured, calm, and deliberately subtle to be immediate (including the intentional throwaway, ). So, why is it a better album than its predecessor? Because doesn't seem to be trying so hard. It flows naturally, largely because this isn't trying to explicitly be a record (thank the presence of a new rhythm section of and drummer for that) and because the melodies are insinuating, slowly working their way into memory, while the entire record plays like a mood piece -- playing equally well as background music or as intensive, serious listening. 's words can still grate -- the stifling pompousness of the clearest example, yet calls of also strike an uneasy chord -- but his lyricism shines on and a quartet of his very finest songs. If runs a little too long, with only his -assisted cover of standing out in the final quarter, it still maintains its tone until the end and, since it's buoyed by those previously mentioned stunners, it's one of his better albums. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine