Aaron Shloss

Overall a huge letdown. Opening track Once Upon A Poolside is pretty and sparse but also sounds like The National by A.I....a promising beginning to a collection of songs that unfortunately, after about a third of the way in, loses any chance of captivating the listener. Tropic Morning News is a solid if forgettable upbeat track that does little to bolster what is for the most part a very tepid, Starbucks-friendly album by a once great indie band. New Order T Shirt is a lilting grower; one of the record's better songs albeit far too wordy and self consciously poetic. Grease In Your Hair finds the band determined to gain momentum but misses the mark despite an admirable college try. Your Mind Is Not Your Friend treads similar ground to earlier and better songs like Exile, Vilify and You Were A Kindness but has none of the magic of those gems; the stark piano and maudlin vocal sound merely like The National by numbers. The true standout on this LP is Eucalyptus; an excellent breakup song that stands among the band's best ever work. Though an absolutely outstanding track, it is unfortunately not able to salvage the bulk of this new record's fare. It is hard to fathom that the group responsible for indispensable albums like High Violet and Boxer and Trouble Will Find Me could be proud of this album. The guest appearance by Taylor Swift on the utterly anemic track "The Alcott" illustrates just how much fame and fortune have ebbed away at the band's once majestic power and seemingly boundless inspiration. Oh well. The mighty must and always do fall. "Timber!"...