3.3 - I listened once and was left confused and unimpressed. Then I read the fawning Pitchfork review and thought maybe I missed something, so I gave it another listen. Then I gave it another….So…look, this record has its charms. “Nomadic Revery…” shows Oldham’s uncanny knack for maximizing negative space. There’s beauty lurking in the hushed recesses of that track. The record also has its moments of poignance, like the chorus of “I See A Darkness” and the gorgeous refrain on “Raining in Darling.” But aside from those, most of the other musical elements simper. This record seems to seriously lack a sort of “life force.” Oldham’s overlayed vocals don’t harmonize so much as skitter like moths bashing randomly into each other. The instrumentals sort of warble in and out of the picture offering little structure or support. The words don’t lend any transcendent nuggets of truth. And the melodies just sound tired (see “Today Was An Evil One.”) This is a record that wishes to triumph by being understated but I’m left wondering if it simply has very little to actually say.