Good new album, but I can't help but feel some of the mystique has gone as he has gravitated toward maximalism on the Empty Estate EP and now on Life of Pause. Still worthy of frequent rotation, though.
The songwriting is fairly average, that's really what it comes down to for me. Nocturne was overflowing with memorable hooks, but these new songs don't stick the same way and there's no interesting textures to compensate.
My copy just arrived today. After my initial anger about being forced to wait, I am happy to say I love it. Much improved over the last, sounds a lot like Wild Nothing, but manages to not feel stale.