's approach hasn't changed much since 2002's -- or their debut , for that matter -- but 's kaleidoscopic finds them fitting into the musical landscape of the late 2000s easily. Kindred spirits such as and have a similar flair for throwing together '60s , hooks and harmonies, and slyly subversive, chugging cool descended from , but have a breezy, almost blase, way of making their words and music seem effortless. And though the album has its fair share of songs that sound like stylish, smart, but lulling background music on first listen, reveals its catchiness gradually; tracks like manage the neat trick of being peppy and mellow at the same time. Even when bust out the , as on the sassy, "hair-hoppin'" the band does it with a unique restraint. This subtlety, and the band's fluent reinvention of 's past, are the biggest signs that are a group in their second decade. Just because this album is the work of a mature band doesn't mean that it's stodgy: could be from an older and wiser (but not too old or wise to cut a rug). which recounts how 's members spent their hiatuses, plays like entering their midlife crises. The band gets even more archival on tracks like a wry homage to 's Wall of Sound, and the excellent a piece of meta- that bobs along on jaunty pianos borrowed from the collected works of , and . which could've easily appeared on a collage of pretty melodies, artfully splattered guitars, and nostalgia for what used to be the future, dig into the more recent past (likewise, 's co-production credits will give fans of '90s a warm, fuzzy flashback). Taking a five-year break would be career suicide for a lot of bands, but 's extended vacation was a risk that paid off: is a grower full of grown-up . ~ Heather Phares