is the first album to sound like a album. For the first time, the band can be heard using low-fi production to their advantage, such as on the opening track, on which 's vocals are blurred like a distorted instrument to complement the track's bleary mood. The improvement in 's melodies here is revelatory, and he and the band move beyond their influences, crafting a blueprint of the signature sound that they would develop to increasingly greater success throughout much of the following decade. Highlights include the melancholy, harmony-laden and the tremolo-heavy ballad, ~ Brian Christopher Egan