A 67-minute masterwork, a wonder of songwriting and alchemical engineering, certain to overtake last year's acclaimed 'It Was Hot, We Stayed in the Water' and earn Microphones the undisputed title of experimental pop's Most Valuable Player. Phil Elvrum, the man behind the Microphones' mask, continues to inspire with this genre-imploding album. This album is the complete package: impeccable songwriting laden with hooks, a widely varied palette of instrumentation, potent lyrical paintings, and interspersed island sounds which serve to lace everything together. Adopting the title from a song off 'It Was Hot?,' the theme of fire (all Microphones albums operate under a predominant theme), referred to as 'The Glow,' stitches its way subtly throughout the record.

Humble and delicate pop songs bump up against heroic yearnings and in-the-red rockers, bookmarked between instrumental interludes. Horns, steel drums, and piano are new additions to the already advanced Microphones arsenal. And what is that subtle tone which pops up mysteriously between songs? Merely a recording of a tugboat, which actually manages to burrow its way through the fabric of each of the songs on the entire album, subconsciously sewing the music together via a common sound element. Astounding.