I think it would be easy to read this review and believe I didn’t enjoy the album. I’ve enjoyed it more with each listen. My point is more that I don’t expect him to ever have an album be broadly well-received by the public again. This one’s gotten plenty of attention, but the broader critical reception of the album hasn’t really distinguished itself from the lukewarm reception of his last few before it. And it kind of pains me to see, because I think he’s more talented than ever.

I realize he's gotten tons of streams and views in spite of everything I say. Each review I've read makes a point to clarify that. But that just googling the name of the album and "review" yields almost entirely negative reviews from the most reputable review sites speaks to what I'm talking about. The RollingStone, PitchFork, Variety, and four or five other big reviewers have at least acknowledged it has merit, but the reviews themselves are pretty scathing. And they each do make some pretty persuasive arguments.