the frame that contextualized the wrong design
If the early Beatles had matured by shifting to mostly acoustic instruments, making most of their melodies one step trickier, improving their lyrics in somewhat darker ways than they actually did, and developing their instrumental skills to the point where any song could veer off into an interesting solo at any time, it would be less amazing than the actual Beatles’ development, of course - and less catchy, on balance. But I’m glad Dan Wallace has explored this alternate past for us .... It later occurs to me that this is also poised about halfway between 'Rubber Soul' and a Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks record. My favorites are "I Want to Be" and "Fell", but "the Gift" stands out as one that could almost be a hit, a worthy romantic pop standard, while "Look at Me" stands out for its rock directness.
