As the saying goes, nothing gold can stay. Like their spiritual heir apparent Weezer a decade and a half later, after two winning albums, the Cars fell into a bit of a slump.

Their debut showed the group deftly walking the line between pop-friendly New Wave and avant-garde art rock. Candy-o showed that they could do either end of that spectrum well. Panorama shows that Ocasek & Co. might not be experts at self evaluation. And while at its best, it may have some excellent playing and some intriguing experimentation, and at it’s worst, it may not be entirely unlistenable (rest assured, at times it definitely is), it never approaches the hem of the Debut’s robe. It never even seems to try. The few times it returns to Just What I Needed’s straight 4 4 pop beat, it pairs it with forgettable synths and Ocasek’s nonsense rambling.

And to be fair, I don’t hate this record as much as I did the last time I listened to it (probably two years ago). There really are some enjoyable moments, and the lead guitar that winds through the record is inventive and refreshing. The synthesizers often abandon the cheesy rhythm strings for glitchy lead lines and freakouts (and I’m all about that). But when stacked against the rest of their discography, Panorama doesn’t stand anywhere near as tall as its peers.