It's cool. Take it or leave it, it's all good. I think Ali/Spinks 2 was the perfect track to release first because it immediately let you know what you were getting into. I heard that electric guitar that sounded straight out of the first two records and got chills. It just went on from there. I love the frankness and humor of the lyrics, I love the rambling song lengths with 2-3 songs tucked into each track, I love the variety of the instrumentation. It's an album that he needed to make because Benji carried forward a rather static musical development from the previous two records. April was the last Sun Kil Moon to really surprise me on a musical front, until Universal Themes.
Which isn't to say that Benji isn't wonderful. It's his second best record behind Ghosts of the Great Highway. The storytelling is dazzling and the melodies are sturdy. It was a new peak for him as a lyricist. I felt as if I was hearing someone reach the other side of a psychological breakthrough. But if Koz is one day remembered for being that grumpy guy that mumbles over quiet acoustic guitars, it will be for albums like Benji and Admiral Fell Promises, not Universal Themes. Benji is a meat and potatoes folk record that refuses to let the musical details cloud the big picture and that's a major strength. But honestly, if the lyrics hadn't been so enthralling, I probably would have forgotten about it already. Meanwhile, Universal Themes could be an engaging instrumental record for its arrangements alone. The lyrics are a step back because they often lack a profound emotional center, but thankfully there's still plenty to like.
Ultimately, this is all hypothetical. I love Benji as it is. I really like Universal Themes. I wish Koz would shut up sometimes.