The release of this album has been a big treat for me, not only because it ranks among the finest of the year, but it also reunited me with an old friend. Writer and front man Dan Wilson, together with his brother Matt were formerly in a band called Trip Shakespeare that I was in love with for a time. When I heard their hit single "Closing Time" on the radio, my ears pricked up like a hungry dog. "He's back," and in rare form. It is probably the most universally likable record of the year.