I've spun this a few times in-between majorly long bouts of spinning the new BBT (and a bit of Haken here and there), and I have to agree with the sentiments that this album falls somewhere between the band's first and second for me. It doesn't QUITE reach the highs of the debut, but still has a bit more of its flair than the second album did. I don't think I'll ever like any of their work more than their first album, but this is a great effort! There's a LOT of, ahem, I suppose "innovative" work on here, a lot of sound/production things that are really unique to Jem's writing and performance style. It'll be interesting to see how they pull of something like "Towerblock" in a live setting without it sounding too much like a recording of samples and triggers.
This will one definitely grow on me, and will likely sit near the bottom of the Top 10 albums of the year, but they've got some hefty competition.
-Marc.