-At its BEST moments they sound like they're just imitating themselves. Black Thought, who we all know is one of the greatest, is always good, but maybe he's just so good and professional that he's lost the passion, graveness, etc. I've argued that Riq has somehow gotten better and better over the years. From Game Theory through Undun he's a beast, not just spittin' but in terms of content and tone (especially on Rising Down imo). But I'm not walking around with quotables in my head from this record.

-There is no standout track. Though The Roots are the ultimate album group, which is one of the things I love about them, there are no standout tracks on this record. I remember having "The Other Side" on repeat, or "Now Or Never" or "75 Bars" or "Long Time" etc. This album has no songs I want to keep hearing.

- There's a big difference between being CONCISE, which The Roots have done artfully in recent years, and being SPARSE as fuck, which this album is. Its the least generous album by a very generous group. I'm cool with tracks without rapping, piano etc, but it just missed the mark. The give and take on this record doesn't fit.