Bizarre alternative funk rock. Strongly influenced by '80s pop/rock aesthetic. A lot of these songs suffer from a lack of progression, a lack of a memorable chorus. The singer, Jack, whose rich low voice dominates these tracks, just keeps reading verses and verses. The few songs that give us a chorus also tend to be the most successful. Themes on this album include obsession, particularly obsession with the opposite sex. Occasionally Jack gets angsty and the backup instrumentals gets gritty, but those songs don’t pan out so well. He's better with romance.

Recommended: 5. 1 if you dare.

1) * “Come on Back This Way” (5:52): After a date goes poorly, Jack chases after a girl who’s trying to leave him. She wants him to leave her alone, but he won’t. Kind of rapey. Cool funky synths though; cool choral harmonies.
2) “Her Hands” (5:16): Cool, funky beat. Not very coherent though, and not catchy.
3) “Model Worlds” (4:35): Higher register here. Jack Ladder describes a surprisingly unambitious model world: blue skies, green grass. For a utopia, it sounds a lot like Stanford.
4) “Reputation Amputation” (4:45): Grittier sound here. Jack needs a reputation amputation. It becomes monotonous quickly.
5) * “Let Me Love You” (4:40): Silky smooth background. Jack trying to seduce someone. I found this song oddly fascinating and pretty successful. The chorus (“let me love you”) is slick.
6) “To Keep and To Be Kept” (5:13): Kind of a feel-good number. Two people in love. Pleasant to listen to, but not particularly memorable.
7) “The Miracle” (4:59): Anemic lyrics separating a chorus which I actually liked. Unfortunately, the lyrics are most of the song.
8) “Neon Blue” (4:49): Gritty again in the beginning, like something out of an ‘80s action movie. Jack sings “neon blue” a bunch of times, says that it sets him free. OK.
9) “Our Ascension” (4:10): Lots of cool accents in the drum/bass. Otherwise not much to speak of.
10) “Slow Boat to China” (4:58): Really painfully slow. “We’re all on a slow boat to China,” and I wish it would speed up a little.