Mezzanine

This grew on me enormously. What initially seemed messy revealed itself as brilliant.

This is one of those albums where even the deep cuts could be singles. The level of quality control here is insane. You can tell every decision was agonized over and it shows in the final product. A genuine landmark.

Probably the most perfectly sequenced album I've ever heard. Each track sets up the next one beautifully and the climax hits like a freight train. The fact that they pulled this off is honestly kind of miraculous.

I keep trying to find something wrong with this album and I genuinely can't. The melodies are gorgeous, the arrangements are inventive, the lyrics are thoughtful without being pretentious. It just fires on every cylinder from start to finish.

I think this album gets slightly overlooked in discussions about the best of its era, which is a shame because it does so many things right. The arrangements are inventive without being showy, the performances are committed and emotionally present, and the overall arc of the tracklist is really well considered. My only real criticism is that it occasionally feels like it's holding back when it should be going for broke. There are moments where you can sense a bigger, bolder idea lurking just beneath the surface. But what's actually here is still great — a confident, cohesive album that rewards close listening and repeated plays.

What sets this apart from other great albums is the consistency. There's no filler, no dips in quality, just track after track of brilliance. The emotional arc from start to finish is perfectly constructed. An easy 5.

I tried multiple times but can't connect with this at all.

A thoroughly enjoyable listen from start to finish.