The sparkling “Can’t Keep Johnny Down” kicks things off in winning fashion, showcasing Linnell’s surprising late-career ability to craft a slick pop tune. But aside from a few more ringers, the rest of the album resembles the grab-bag goodness of 1990’s Flood.
Left-field arrangements and instrumentations abound, and even the flat-out rockers (“Judy Is Your Viet Nam”) and straight-up throwbacks (“Old Pine Box”) are shot through with a newfound sense of kitchen-sink experimentation. The busy, upbeat highlight “When Will You Die” revels in TMBG’s giddy black humor, and ends up being one of the group’s most jubilant, life-affirming songs.
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