What it all comes down to is that the album is not only damn fun to listen to, but it has enough aura and vibe that you may want to make it your personal soundtrack for this summer.

Musically and lyrically, it continues right along in the same footsteps of their last album, and in the case of some tracks is even much better.

An overproduced, sapped-down album that sounds really nice but fails to stick.

If you're a fan of the darker energy that the group brought to their earlier releases (like Dubnobasswithmyheadman), you may find this release a little soft in the middle.

Because this is a more personal affair, your tolerance for this release will largely depend on your acceptance of Martsch's voice.

Adamson isn't above mixing wacca-chika guitars with soaring strings and following it up with haunting instrumentals, and unlike some odd hybrids on former releases, this disc pulls most of it off quite well.

The brief disc contains enough gusto and punch to get your spastic swerve on heartily.

It's a much breezier affair, as if Air and Daft Punk have been cross-bred with The Notwist and Mouse On Mars.

As a debut full-length, the group is definitely doing some excellent stuff, but like any band that gets swept up by the hype machine, you may be disappointed if you expect too much.

Interestingly enough, the group manages to pull most of it off, but not without some stops into new-age and downright silly territory.

While it's sometimes a rambling mess, The Story Is In The Soil... sounds like one of those releases that was both cathartic and damn fun to put together.

Would most likely appeal to everyone from fans of Will Oldham and Palace Music to everyone who bought the recent Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack and wanted to branch out a bit into some slightly (but still thematically similar) territory.

While the group has done a great job of incorporating even more digital tricks and unique sounds into the mix, they've somehow managed to create a slightly more sterile environment.

While the results may not break down conventions, it does provide a heaping helping of interesting music.

The Private Press is not only more ambitious, but simply more all over the place as well (which makes for brilliant moments as well as some inconsistent ones).

The Snare works well at moments and at other times feels like a rather tepid trip-hop release from a band still developing their sound.

Many of the tracks on the latter half of the release simply don't change that much, and for that reason it's a little hard to just pop in the player and sit down to listen to unless you're into repetitive, harsh electronic dance music.

Fans of the group's early work might find the album a bit trying at first, but it's still the same old group for the most part.

I'm not sure if it's the work by O'Rourke or the progression of the group (or a little of both), but this disc is so multi-layered that it's easy to hear new things many many times after the first listen.

It's a diverse album in terms of textures, and those extra layers help give the band a developed sound beyond most debut releases.

While it may turn off some people who were fans of his earlier, acoustic work, it also shows that he has the chops to do a full-fledged rock album.

The album is a bit hit-or-miss, fortunately more of the former than the latter.

Nearly everything is fair game with the group, and that's what makes this release one of their better ones.

The disc as a whole has sort of an austere quality that lets some of the fun out of the sails.

Sure, they make use of their obviously higher budget and Source Tags And Codes sounds more rich and layered because of it, but like Modest Mouse with The Moon And Antarctica, they've used these new elements to accent their music, not destroy it.

They definitely have some hummable hooks, and at moments the album feels like it's going to shake off the reigns of running the middle-ground, but just about the time you think things are going to bust loose like a rocking Monk and Cantella track, they swerve back into more agreeable sounds.

People wishing the group would change up their style a little more might find themselves a bit disappointed, but everyone else should be happy to know that they've again put forth a very solid effort, and one of the best electronic releases yet this year.

Fans of Macha might find the release lacking a bit in the percussion area, but The Ride makes up for it some with atmosphere.