New Criticals


On "Guess Again!" Thom sings softly over skittering distorted drums and dark chunky piano chords: "Wild dogs are howling / Behind the curtains / I hold onto my children / Creatures staring in / All of my nightmares / Are in the garden / Guess again!" His words conjure up images of a disaster or home invasion film but rendered in the unconscious, an imagined terror from outside that may or may not be threatening or even manifested in reality at all.

He expresses similar internal conflict and confusion in "Truth Ray" where he sings: "You know my sins / know my sins / What is it now that awakens me? / And all of this is in my head / Oh my God / Oh my God"

Rooted in syncopated kick drums and swells of reverb drenched electronic sounds, Thom sings softly and beautifully on "Nose Grows Some" on a fraught and fearful act of love: "I don't know how this night will end / If I open up the door / To the back of your simple mind / And then we'll call the flood / When it all becomes too much / Spread your last legs / In the times you are afraid.”