[Dunwho]

I have held off on any sort of a review till now, just to let it sink in a bit. I have also listened to OWB and Barking to compare it to their most recent releases, and I have to say I am delighted with it.

It is a nice length. Not a length I'd like if they were still making Techno/House music, but for the type of music they have on this album it is right. It the sort of short length you get with the latest Radiohead albums - short powerful songs that don't linger too long (except maybe for I Exhale)

After listening to this, and then listening back to Barking, it just highlighted again how little I felt I wanted to listen to Barking... I knew the moment I heard it that I would only ever dip back into 1 or 2 songs on a semi-regular basis... as an album it was never going to grab me. It just didn't feel right.

But BBWFSF does have a listenable and expressive quality which will get me listening over and over. I am delighted with it. I actually really like I Exhale and If Rah ... I think they are really strong and fun and have a lot of elements with which the band *could* play around with live... (not that they look like they will)

I am also a fan of the repetitious vocals and building rhythms that are at the core of the whole album. It is a development on that idea which they infused with their Tech/house/acid style of the 90s and 00s.. but have now incorporated it into their more narrative based stuff since OWB.

Comparing this to OWB I am delighted to hear the same experimental vibe in both albums.. I think more accurately it relates to the flow they built with the Riverrun series. Except again they are resting more on narrative forms with verse and chorus, and stringed instruments.

Barking fell flat for me.. it seemed caught up in achieving a commercial mix between what they are generally known for (LAGER LAGER LAGER), the feeling they wanted to achieve (Two Months Off), and the actual music they wanted to make at the time (UW Mk1, pop music)...

This time around they seem to have ditched that vein effort to keep trying to achieve what people expect from them and just went for what they wanted to do. What resulted is a more honest record (Like OWB) that has a lot more heart and asks a lot more of the listener rather than simply trying to please.

I like it, I will listen to it a lot and I am delighted they are even still doing all of this. Which is what I am most thankful for.