This came out in 1998 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Have Buffalo’s artsy post-rockers Mercury Rev deserted from the avant-garde?
That’s how it seems at the start of their fourth CD, which kicks off with rich orchestral ballads light-years away from their noisy post-rock past. But like a snowflake rolling downhill, the disc begins to gain momentum — a rhythm here, a guitar solo there — until it culminates in glorious alt-pop that recalls the soaring psychedelic majesty of Flaming Lips. So even if the Rev may have gone a little AWOL here, they end up discharging themselves honourably nonetheless.
