Some people have called the cover photo for this album ironic. And of course it is, right? Indie artpop god David Longstreth teaching some old country dude how to play air guitar? Hilarious!

Although listening to this album, I’m not sure there’s anything ironic about it. Longstreth isn’t mocking the fellow. He’s teaching him. He wants him to get it. He wants us all to get it. And that’s what’s special about this record.

Yes, its ambitious and avant garde and riddled with art punk sentiments, but it’s not an inside joke. It’s the good news. He has discovered something precious deep inside the belly of music’s stranger elements, and he wants everyone else to enjoy it too.

“Everyone, hear me!” he proclaims. “Pop music can be catchy AND weird! You can have it all!” That’s how this album has been called both accessible and ground breaking. The music isn’t dumbed down at all–granted, the tempos aren’t as unpredictable and the drums lay more grooves than ever before, but the slippery guitar solos, the weird samples, the cult-like background singers, the nonsense lyrics; they’re all still here. But they’re paired with Longstreth’s new outward, evangelistic focus.

No longer is he in the monastery trying to learn all of the secrets of art pop. He’s out in the streets, trying to gain converts to the wonderful truths he has discovered. Before, he sat in a tavern with his cards close and a winking eye. Here, he’s on a street corner with his arms are wider than his exuberant smile, the occasional tear falling down his cheek from the bliss the music gives him, wanting only for everyone to get it.

He who has ears, let him hear.