To be perfectly honest, I haven't beenshocked by the direction of the album, but I have been very pleasantly surprised by how totally awesome it is. Since I had to work today, I've pretty much only gotten in one proper listen and I'm having a very difficult time trying to rank the songs. At this moment I'd put them in this order:
The Antique (especially the long, beautiful mellow ending (i heard it for the first time driving home and it was too easy to get lost in to be listening to while driving))
Second place tie between Wayfarer and Marathon
The Manifold Curiosity
A Pitcher Of Summer (last only because it's probably the most accessable, but it's still very delicate and completely awesome)
I don't want to make any hasty conclusions, but unless for some terribly odd reason this album ages badly (which it won't, I see the opposite happening) or unless something comes out of the blue that somehow manages to be better, this'll likely be album of the year for me. I'll be doing a more in depth review on metalreview.com within a week or so, I'll link it whenever it goes up.