It wouldn't seem that a solo album from would be all that different from a album, since he's not only the singer/songwriter/guitarist; he leads the band and gives it its very name. That assumption turns out to be incorrect, since sounds and feels much different than any effort. With , has turned in a brooding, moody album that attempts to extend the breakthrough of , which signaled a considerable leap forward for as a songwriter and musician, finding him tackling darker territory. Here, he turns up the darkness even more, but loses the fluid musicality that came with 's loose-limbed jams. In a way, it's an attempt to shore up his credentials as a singer/songwriter, something that has always been overshadowed by his brood's status as favorites, and certainly feels more at home among modern singer/songwriters from to than it does next to . Even though he's cut a lot of fat off his songs, he still favors meandering to directness, which combined with the deliberately somber mood of the album means this often sounds like as written and performed by . The end results are a bit unwieldy, perhaps, and not always successful, but it is interesting and certainly different than a record. Most importantly, even if it is a rather modest success, does showcase a continued growth for as a songwriter. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine