Pitchfork

On the first song to jump Ships, all the Danielsons join hands for one hell of a soaring chorus, singing, "Pleasing people is so predictable." Uh, not really, Dan-o. And you've got the dumbfounding discography to prove it, too. But "Did I Step on Your Trumpet?" is a bona fide people-pleaser, retaining the Danielson Famile's endearingly skewed pop sensibility, while delivering the goods in a standard verse-chorus-verse package.

All the oddball elements you'd expect are here: herky-jerky acoustic guitar, call-and-response vocals, tinkling bells, etc. But it's never sounded like this. When Famile founder Dan Smith belts out lyrics about his "casket"-- correction: his "body basket"-- his voice seems to have outgrown his typical glass-shattering timbre. And musically, the band does chart a course that navigates more predictable waters, but it sails well beyond catchy.