Bold and Honest lyrics that poke at you and prod themselves into you psyche, leaving to question the importance of being. Is it for Love? Is it for Fame? Or are we all just meant to ruin eachother, for the sake of feeling something real. When we've reached the end we all hope the worst of it is finally over.

With all the dissonance in their great previous album Domestica it seems easy to label them a more emotionally driven modern Fugazi, but with this album Cursive forms their own identity unlike anyone else.

The album shows off every part of Tim Kasher's personality in a way the break up spat Domestica could not. Here you will find every personality trait including self loathing, sadness, hesitation about selling out, difficulty with relationships, and even a little tenderness; If they had come out in the depression soaked early 90s they would have been huge.

A lot of people refer to this as Emo. Now I have no idea what that means, but I get the impression that Emo applies to poppy screaming bands putting on a front of sadness to seem deep and artistic, whereas I believe every word Tim Kasher says here. The album is much closer to punk I think, contrasting extreme dissonance with beautiful classical strings for a very unique sound. The album closer "Staying Alive" is both at the same time, is a great epic, and is one of the great songs here.

I like almost every song here which I can't say for Domestica. Here the consistent quality of tracks like "Some Red Handed Sleight of Hand", "Art Is Hard", "The Recluse", "Driftwood", and Sierra" is amazing. I'm at the point where if I can find one amazing track on an album I'm satisfied, but to have six here means you need to hear this if you have ever liked Fugazi, Sonic Youth, or the harder edged parts of Nirvana. As far as albums that go knee deep into depression before having an incredibly inspiring final song, there are few competitors with "The Ugly Organ".

You could keep listening to safe music the rest of your life, or you could listen to something that finds the beauty in ugliness, and I think I'll go with the latter.

"The Ugly Organ" was a birthday gift from a good friend, and it only took one listen to make it onto my "IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS, YOU HAVE NO SOUL" album list. Cello, keyboards and stark guitar dissonance add to the album's overall mood of soul-crushing darkness, something far sadder than sorrow. "The Ugly Organ" is probably the darkest CD in my collection, beating out my numerous goth and doom metal albums.

Almost every track on its own is capable of dishing out the chills to listeners, particularly the album's closer, "Staying Alive," which can only be classified as "epic," "haunting," and "effing brilliant." All the greatest elements and quirks found throughout the other songs on the album come together in "Staying Alive" - cello, choir, strings, the whole shebang. Most of the songs are on the short side, but each is a tiny work of storytelling art that deserves to be preserved in a glass case for the rest of all eternity.

i don't have anything original to say, it's been said already...this album grows on you. concept album or not, who cares. i hold it on the same level as ok computer for me in terms of it's importance to me as art and music. i didn't gather the beauty of this album until being locked in an office working late and listening to it from beginning to end - while i can still enjoy picking out a few songs, this album was meant to be played in it's entirety, one mood bleeding into the next...fabulous work.

Go figure. As soon as I move from Omaha, it explodes into this whole underground, creative, indie-rock scene. I actually was raised right by the recording studio that great new acts like The Faint, Cursive, Bright Eyes, and The Good Life made their magic. This CD is excellent!! It mixes artistic cello, with melodic guitar, and haunting vocals. Every track on this disc is killer. So buy it, put it in your player, and ENJOY!!