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Title: Transition
Review: Transitioning from the loungy Burns/Convertino era to the melodic Semple era, this album (along with its immediate successor Wichita Lineman) represents the band's short-lived heavier phase. Despite a couple of gorgeous tracks ("When You're Gone" and "Broken Bell") A Place in the Sun comes across as a post-rock album, reminiscent of Explosions in the Sky. The opening and closing tracks tend to ramble a bit, forsaking their brilliant main theme. With too many composers, the album is a patchwork rather than a cohesive concept album, and a couple of tracks ("White Lake" and "Summertime") should have been left off entirely. Nevertheless, it's worth getting the album just for tracks 1, 4, 6, 8, and 11. It's worth getting for "Broken Bell" alone. That piece is an instant classic.
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