After seven albums' worth of gleeful pandemonium, calm things down a bit with , a collection of songs that are even more restrained than and the EP. Perhaps trying for the unpredictability of their earlier work got too, well, predictable for the band. Even though the manic intensity that characterized work like is missed a little here, is still a far cry from typical ; in fact, it sounds more like one of 's older albums played at half-speed than anything else. Most importantly, the joyful creativity that radiates from all of the band's other work is here in spades, too: it's hard not to smile at ' zigzagging riffs or 's giddy, girl-boy vocals. At the beginning of the album, there's more of an emphasis on pretty, relatively gentle songs like and although even these tracks have enough shifts in tempo and dynamics to prove that they're the work of . However, as unfolds, it gets progressively louder and more overtly playful, with providing some of the album's most irresistible moments. By the time close out the album, are back to the sugar-buzzing of their early days. In between these extremes are the pretty of and noisy, experimental cuts such as which recalls the more elliptical moments of offshoot . While it's not as clearly conceptual as was, also seems to tell an extended, if fractured, story involving murderous twin beauties, spies, pirates, and smugglers. There's a lot to look and listen for in ; it's 's longest, most eclectic work yet, and more proof that the band can expand its sound without losing what makes it special. ~ Heather Phares