*** Julian Cope

The surprise, however, is that this isn't another unfocused epic in the mold of 1992's Jehovakill. It's a focused epic, where the copious quirks are used in the service of Cope's most accessible writing in years. Opening with the countryish "Wheelbarrow Man," the album takes in every style Cope's ever tried - from a full-tilt Teardrop Explodes-style rocker ("Try Try Try") to a helping of Mellotron-laced psychedelia and a number ("Don't Take Roots") that sounds like one of Pete Townshend's disco experiments. And he's come down to earth enough to write an affecting lullaby ("I'm Your Daddy"), and to pen this line from "Highway to the Sun": "The 20th century smokes a 25-cent cheroot/Lost face of Jesus and Las Vegas Bono, I'm tired of you." It's no mean feat to fit a religious statement, a bit of music criticism, and two great puns all in the same couplet.

- Brett Milano