Strangers to Ourselves

Strangers to Ourselves, their first album since 2007, is a fight to the death against the kind of sepia-toned nostalgia that any band hitting their 20-year mark has the right to claim. Its songs thrum with vigor and eagerness, feelings that maybe only a long hiatus can muster. It is by turns tender, angry, ferocious, and fantastical, and it joyfully references the band's own history without getting bogged down in the particulars. It's nuanced and complex, yet it feels easy, and its originality is an antidote to the kind of mainstream corporate swill that passes for "indie" rock these days. - Consequence of Sound