I think one thing about Night Life is that all the songs sound distinct; they definitely "matured" their sound in the fullest sense of the word. I think there was definitely a lot more going on, and it takes a few listens to really get into. Still, the immaturity/skeletal/somewhat broken sound of their first 2 albums is what really got me into the band. I think they got better, technically, but there was just something about those first 2 albums -- some sense of mystery, a sense of immaturity, etc. that kinda makes me keep reaching for those instead. For a lack of a better example, their first 2 albums are Surfer Rosa, Nightlife is their Trompe Le Monde.
I think Crystal Palace is my favorite, because it is a lot more mature compared to the first album, with some really mean distorted bass riffs and a bit more complexity, but it still has those nasty high pitched riffs.
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