With 2007's , ventured out of the garage and into the arena. Tracks like and were bold, anthemic rock songs that built upon the barnyard stomp of , and topped the U.K. charts upon its debut, officially crowning as rock & roll royalty in the process. arrived one year later, marking the band's fastest turnaround between albums; it also furthered the epic sound that introduced, flaunting a set of ringing guitars and radio-ready melodies that pushed the band away from ' camp. If anything, much of the album took up residence in 's cathedral, particularly during the one-two-three punch of Appropriately, became a -sized smash on both sides of the Atlantic, selling some six million copies worldwide while firmly pushing the band into the mainstream. Like many big-sounding albums, is a polarizing piece of work, one that targets new fans at the expense of those who wish had never shaved their beards or discovered post-'70s rock. To rope in the skeptics, the strongest tracks are pushed toward the album's first half. flexes the band's rock & roll muscle, melding -styled crunch with the experimental guitar buzz of 's , while makes up for its goofy title with a meteoric chorus tailored to 's voice. (He sounds fantastic throughout the record, even if his vocals continue to be garbled by some untraceable accent, as if he's auditioning for the role in a Broadway adaptation of .) Rounding out the hit-filled segment are where cloaks his guitar riffs in reverb and bassist takes the spotlight sporadically, popping up for quick melodic fills before ducking back into the mix. While past albums concerned themselves with alcohol, women, and other hedonistic themes, those two songs are nothing but pop/rock grandeur, and howls their hopeful lyrics like 's American-born cousin. focuses on textures and experimentation during the album's latter half, but most songs still deliver some sort of Technicolor melody, from (one of the only tracks featuring piano) to the unexpected chorus of Taken as a whole, targets the audience that approved 's sonic shift in 2007, leaving older fans free to damn these tracks for their consciously grand approach. Yes, the album is often cheesy. Yes, some of the more popular songs lost their luster after endless months of radioplay. But remains a potent record, and the guys have never defined their ambition so clearly. ~ Andrew Leahey