I seriously can't listen to this album enough times. Each song is exquisitely arranged, and I hear vintage electronic instruments and synthesizers that I haven't heard in non-synth-electro-pop songs in years. Lyrically, each song addresses some aspect about the path to true love, especially the dead ends which make for more interesting songs, anyway.
"Little Games" (track 1) is driven by a cheap synth drum pattern with sounds of old electronic games from the 1980s that turns into a drums and percussion (electronic) tour de force, all while he sings (ironically?) about how he won't get conned into playing "little games" with a lover.
"The Way I Pictured You" (track 2) continues the drum machine sounds balanced with acoustic guitars as Jay sings about how the girl never thought of him as someone with whom she'd fall in love. Then the song tumbles into orchestral chaos with strings and brass all going their separate ways only to eventually come together in harmony.
"Open Sea" (track 3) is the magnum opus metaphor song comparing one man's sea-faring journey seeking a new world to the search for absolute true love without compromises. The 12-minute length goes by so fast, but if you love Brian Wilson's (Beach Boys) orchestral pop style, you will appreciate this track.
"Junior High Slow Song" (track 4) is a kind of meta-parody of all those cheesy 1970s classic rock and 1980s power ballads that were (and probably still are) played at junior high dances. Here, though, the people in the song are miscreants sneaking into a junior high dance only to fall in love while trying to escape the evil vice-principal chasing them. LOTS of fun musical cues and quotes to pick out, if you're familiar with your classic rock.
"Amy Says" (track 5) is a short, fun, poppy piano-driven song about a female siren who lures men on the Internet only to leave them dangling and wanting more. One of those songs where the lyrics are circular, meaning the answer to the question asked at the end of the song is at the beginning of the song. Very clever songwriting :)
"mellow, ambiguous, and vivid" (track 6) is an instrumental that kind of reminded me of any Radiohead song (with a blazing guitar solo in reverse) until the songs gets its electro-funk on at the end with another guitar solo and Simmons electronic drum fills. Remember those drums? Another nod to the 1980s New Wave.
"Comet" (track 7, last track) ends the album perfectly with a goodbye note from Jay to his lover with whom he just broke up saying that maybe, like a comet, they will meet again in the future. The funny part being that comets only visit but once every 100 to 1,000 years or so. But musicially this song has everything going for it, building to a climax where even the kitchen sink gets involved: swelling strings, electric piano solo, vintage late '70s drum machine sounds, swirling space noises that sound like a comet swooshing by. All-in-all, a joy to listen to multiple times just to escape into that world.
I guess "escaping" into this world is the best way to put it. The whole album clocks in at just under 40 minutes, just like a classic vinyl LP record would.
Very highly recommended :)