Forget those other reviews
Devin N. Robinson | 06/20/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is a perfectly fine album. It is just that Mercury Rev changed completely after David Baker left taht if you are expecting the "new" version you might not dig the "old" version. I happen to love both versions. Both this and Mercury Rev's second album (the reviews above seem to not know that it even exists) "Boces" are similar in that they are full of noisy pop flourishes and topnotch pop hooks, choruses, choral bits, horn fills, and so on combined with transient white noise bursts just to make it all weird. The result is great - chaotic moments within finely crafted pop tunes. It was even recorded on magnetic tape (or so I've heard).
I know this isn't the most "informative" review, but I just had to pipe in and defend what I think is a really good album.
I recommend "Chasing a Bee," "Syringe Mouth," "Very Sleepy Rivers" and "Carwash Hair" to the uninitiated."