4x****
At almost 70 minutes and with extensive layers, the only thing missing is the kitchen sink. Regardless of the dense production, "Puzzle Heart" is catchy and is only enhanced by the trumpets, though it goes on a bit long. The harmonies of "Talk To Me" have an Elvis Costello, but "Whispers Or Screams" even more so. "Shakin Sugar" is like early Wilco with Summer Teeth production. The angular, western hook of "C.T.M." is completely unexpected and rescues the track from Tom Petty territory (ripping off the 'seen you in my nightmares, seen you in my dreams' line by Neil Young is unnecessary - Jay obviously has no trouble coming up with words). "Drinking On Your Dime"**** starts like Flaming Lips, but he chorus is equal to anything by The Beatles. Jay's version of "My Darlin"**** is a sonic explosion compared to the Wilco version, which is good and bad, but it doesn't prevent it from being a great song. "No Church Tonite"**** is swampy with big splooshes of melotron and whammy-bar. After this point the tracks aren't as poppy or for the most part as strong."Like A Photograph" again sounds just like Elvis Costello, while the squishy "Venus Stopped The Train" sounds like an outtake from Summer Teeth. "Little White Cottage" is the hokey reminiscence of childhood, borrowing from Paul Young's "Every Time You Go Away". But though it's 8-minute long "It Hurts"**** is much subtler and less distracting than the rest of the album, and creates a calm after the preceding flurry of activity.
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