3.8 - This album's perched somewhere after Britpop of the mid-90s and just before the advent of more wacked out bands like the Gorillaz. Like Britpop, these songs build to durable, sing-songy choruses and there are harsher noise elements thrown in. I hear bits of Spiritualized, Blur and Flaming Lips, as well as older influences like ELO and the Beach Boys (esp on "Receptacle for the Respectable"). At 53 minutes, it definitely feels overlong. The first five songs propel the record to amazing heights where much of the second half feels a little flabby.