'Alopecia' was anything but an anti-climax: haunting, vivid, brutal, unique and easily misunderstood. The 1st person narrative approach that follows the soggy bass, slow-clap intro of 'The Vowels Pt 2' possesses an uncanny knowing obviousness with acerbic lines like "Faking suicide for applause in the food courts and malls" that seem written by the whitest journal jotter in town. In its essence, we have discovered Yoni’s subject: the loner, the pervert, the recluse, the shy retirer, the naïve and paranoid, all hidden behind the mask of the singer’s prose. As a device to incite, 'Alopecia' is more incisive than Pissed Jeans and other new trailblazers of this attacking punk mentality. The lyrics are in itself that of a very balding skin condition, the grotesque malevolence of emotional ageing personified in physical form.

The distinctive stop-start chunter of the album’s moderate guitar rock is so infectious in a way that still doesn’t seem MOR like Foo Fighters, incorporating his ‘nasty naggy accent’ in incongruous rap/sing delivery. With Fog’s Mark Erickson and Andrew Broder propping up Yoni’s lead, we are treated to a multilayered approach most notable on 'The Hollows' where a guitar breakdown is transmogrified into a propelled choral outburst of ‘this goes out to dirty dancing, cursing, back-masking, backslidden pastor’s kids/and all our surf grows unplanted’…a harrowing point-the-finger to the underproductive.

Musically, it is 'A Sky For Shoeing Horses Under' that stands out as the album's highlight. An arpeggio heavy, major key piano tone works wonders with Yoni's dulcit tones, like a boyish Tom Waits accompanied by Philip Glass or someone equally lovely. In 'Simeon’s Dilemma', a creepy stalker tale where the seemingly sweet line 'you're mostly what I think about' sung out-of-tune teeters into Daniel Johnston territory. With 'Exegesis' (def: a critical explanation of a text, especially The Bible), could be underlining how this album deserves a good ol' decoding. However cryptic, it is full of purpose. Spoilers and comparisons aside, there's little to contest about the album's concept, musicianship and songwriting prowess. This deserves to be on top tens the end of the year. Breakneck.