Throughout the years, have remained one of the most distinctive bands to ever emerge from the American underground. Twelfth studio album is the group's fifth set of new material since the original lineup re-formed in 2005, and it sees them further refining the brand of guitar-driven slacker pop that only they can create. Besides guitarist/vocalist , bassist/vocalist , and drummer , the only other contributor to is noted descendant . assists with production input and the occasional auxiliary instrumental part, showing up mostly as understated touches like the subtle 12-string guitar figures he offers as counterpoint to ' -esque dual leads on the jangly "I Ran Away." 's presence is barely perceptible, however, as the album is solidly centered around the airtight chemistry, guitar mastery, and mumbling brilliance that has defined the band since the late '80s. "I Ain't" opens the album with a flowing, stony melody and walls of layered guitars. This and songs like "Hide Another Round" and "I Expect It Always" are built from the same combination of melody, distortion, and blissed-out confusion that has marked 's best work. Even the few songwriting outliers -- wobbly girl group approximation on "Take It Back" and chugging cosmic metal on "I Met the Stones" -- can't commit to their changes for long before signature elements like a wailing solo or eerie falsetto vocal harmonies come back into focus. Throughout the album, certain melodies, phrases, guitar leads, and other elements feel familiar, revised slightly from ideas that appeared in different forms on earlier records. This is something that has happened throughout their career, and has always come off more as intentional reflection on their weird, insular universe more than self-cannibalization for lack of ideas. When ' croaky cadence on "To Be Waiting" faintly recalls a moment from 1991's , or 's pained delivery on "Garden" (one of the two tracks where he sings lead) evokes the same pleading sadness as his songs on 2007's , the effect is more comforting than redundant. Much of plays out in the same way, sounding like what we've come to expect from with very few advancements or revisions to the formula. For a band so singular, an album that doesn't fix what isn't broken is a welcome thing, and boasts some of the catchiest and most immediate songs have released since their reunion. There aren't many sharp turns or wild surprises, just a one-of-a-kind band doing what they do best. ~ Fred Thomas