For many hard-time fans, Brighten the Corners is part of the holy trinity with Crooked Rain and Wowee Zowee. As such it combines the anarchy of the band's previous slop with a expert grasp on hook and pop dynamics. Before we get all nostalgic about how great this record is let's just consider the songs in cold contemporary light: the wild pop ecstasy of Stereo, the sweetly melancholic Shady Lane, the crooked joyful Type Slowly and the lo-fi poet punk of Embassy Row. All of these tracks are embedded in the indie psyche and for good reason.