5x****
Not deviating much from the feel of other Son Volt albums, a few songs are noteworthy. The reflective piano ballad "Slow Hearse" is an unassuming beginning, but a good set up for a big pop song. "The Picture", which has a few horns to show you how poppy it is, similar to recent singles by Spoon. "Action" is the first traditional alt-country song with a hummable aw-aw-aw-aw chorus. "Underground Dream" is of the slower variety, as is "Circadian Rhythm"****, except the latter is driven by a syncopation, a simple but effective progression, and an evocative lead guitar very deliberately recorded backwards. "Beacon Soul" has that happy acoustic REM sound, while the title song**** is a well-constructed country rocker with nice overdriven lead at the end. "Adrenaline And Heresy"**** starts with quietly pulsing piano and ends with a more driving coda. "Satellite" is another rock song with a strange interplay between keyboard and lead guitar. "Automatic Society"**** is topical as the title suggests, and angular as I've heard from Son Volt with a big bridge riff. "Methamphetamine"**** has a simple progression that leads into each line of the verse in an interesting way, the best reference to the poor white drug of choice I've heard. The final songs round out a consistent and occasionally surprising album.
Not deviating much from the feel of other Son Volt albums, a few songs are noteworthy. The reflective piano ballad "Slow Hearse" is an unassuming beginning, but a good set up for a big pop song. "The Picture", which has a few horns to show you how poppy it is, similar to recent singles by Spoon. "Action" is the first traditional alt-country song with a hummable aw-aw-aw-aw chorus. "Underground Dream" is of the slower variety, as is "Circadian Rhythm"****, except the latter is driven by a syncopation, a simple but effective progression, and an evocative lead guitar very deliberately recorded backwards. "Beacon Soul" has that happy acoustic REM sound, while the title song**** is a well-constructed country rocker with nice overdriven lead at the end. "Adrenaline And Heresy"**** starts with quietly pulsing piano and ends with a more driving coda. "Satellite" is another rock song with a strange interplay between keyboard and lead guitar. "Automatic Society"**** is topical as the title suggests, and angular as I've heard from Son Volt with a big bridge riff. "Methamphetamine"**** has a simple progression that leads into each line of the verse in an interesting way, the best reference to the poor white drug of choice I've heard. The final songs round out a consistent and occasionally surprising album.
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