Styrofoam represents the part of the Morr Music roster where the first three letters of the label's name might as well stand for "middle of the road." Producer Arne Van Petegem does liven up his approach from the previous year's
I'm What's There to Show That Something's Missing, a trudging album that often resembled one long, feeble remix of
New Order's "Leave Me Alone." The guest vocalists -- including
Lali Puna's
Valerie Trebeljahr,
the Postal Service's
Ben Gibbard, and
the American Analog Set's
Andrew Kenny -- aren't the only ones responsible for adding life, whether it's for better or worse; most of these productions have some amount of energy, which ought to come in handy if you want to do anything other than sulk along with them. ~ Andy Kellman