*Note (Soul Cages is on its way in the mail due to our earlier discussion so TSS may soon be off the list if its as good as you say).

Important things to note about Soul Cages: It does not grab you immediately with pop hooks. It must be taken in as a whole, and must be listened to multiple times before it can be appreciated. For instance, there is a melodic theme in one of the earliest songs on the album, and the resolution to that theme doesn't happen until near the very end of that album when the theme is reprised. Only when you listen to the album in its entirety do you get the full effect. So before you begin to immediately compare it to TST, give it a few complete listens. It's quite a different album from TST and comes from a different "place".

Also, on first listen, the album seems very depressing. A major theme in the album is death, coping with the loss of a loved one. But after a few listens, you start to hear an undercurrent of joyousness to it (is that a word?). It's gloomy on the surface, but warm and happy underneath. It's hard to explain, and I'm not sure you'll get the same interpretation anyway. I'm just saying give it a chance to grow on you.

Some of the best albums in the world require a growing period. The things that make them so that they're not necessarily immediately accessible are also the things that make them stand up to repeated listenings. The albums I didn't necessarily like at first are often the ones that keep surprising me after the hundredth listen.