Stefano Achetto's farewell is a blow, and it's felt; I miss his guitar quite a lot. From a compositional standpoint, the three remaining piglets are uncertain about which direction to take, whether to continue with a lighter progressive style (or an extremely refined pop, like the autumnal Banksian ballads already sampled on the more valid previous album or a stunning title track, "A Trick of the Tail") or to delve into a more brash chart-friendly pop. Even though it's a hybrid and clearly a transitional work, the album is still enjoyable overall. For the first time, there are 3-4 truly insubstantial songs that leave nothing and are somewhat unsuccessful, but there are also 4 or 5 great tracks (some absolutely pop, especially "Many too Many", which I've always liked), for example, "Down and Out" and "Burning Rope," the best on the album. Of course, there's also "Follow You," a pretty obvious hint that, in the end, they did have a decision in mind. Oops.
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