The pros will tell you this a typical sophomore album. They'll say it doesn't have the same energy as the debut. Or, the band started experimenting to add an edge to their sound, but hadn't fully developed into themselves. You can even read retrospective reviews that claim the follow-up is the one to own, it's the one that put all the pieces together.
Screw that, in 2000, the start/stop emo dynamic was morphing into garbage like Fall Out Boy. Yet, here's this Kansas City band smacking you in the face. Screaming and crying, even heavy metal gurgling at you that this style still had some moments to offer. The band's experimentation was the use of more progressive and metal influences that they threw into their sound. And it works. It works amazingly well. You could call it a little unbalanced compared to the later albums, but you could just as easily say it also adds an element of surprise to the album listening experience.
The kids know. This is a great LP. Regardless of what the "best" Casket Lottery album is, this stands with all their work on equal footing. There's also a great blurb written by Ed Rose about the recording of the album on the inner-sleeve. It's not legendary bathroom reading like the CD liners to Kill Creek's St. Valentine's Garage (if you have the CD, you understand), but it shows, Ed got it, too.
A Dead Dear
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