They have gone in a more Stone Roses direction for this one. In doing so, this means more melody. The vocals got more love in the studio and are crooned with less apathy. On the other hand, this album jangles more and has less punk rock left in its veins. The atmosphere is thicker and often more melancholic. They are in many ways the same band, but attacking things from a different direction. This means bringing a little more rock balls to "the Scene," though the vocals carry a more surreal plea to their croon. The guitars have several interesting layers, and the overall production on this album is fantastic.
"Julia's War" finds the distortion ringing out brighter. The vocals are mixed forward. It's far from a pop song, but more accessible to indie rock audiences, despite the somewhat noisy guitars that give things a dissonant charm. "Letter to Heaven' is noisy and drifting in the droning strum of the guitar. "Break Right" is one of the album's strongest songs, thanks to where the vocals sit and the almsot 90s alt strum of the slacker guitar. The subdued vocal pattern is more syncopated. "Time Flies" works with a faster strum while the vocals go about things in a manner that has been most prevalent throughout this album.
Things ring out in a very sonic manner for "Candle" but the vocals are jsut a texture that glides along with the guitars, nothing that hooks you in. "Dance the night away" does a better job of working the jangle into a song that has heart and tells a story more tangibly. There is a slight hint of emo in its sentiments as he sings about "heartbreak/ my valentine". There is a crisp strum to the guitar of the more Brit-pop influenced "Lawnmower". "Where U Been?" closes the album in a manner that could be described as dream pop, as it's more articulated in its arrangement than the droning wall of sound typically associated with shoegaze. I will give this album a 9.5; they continue to grow as songwriters, and this more shoegazing direction works well for the band.
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