As urgent and tense as a hunting knife pressed to a quickening jugular, 'The Kicking Mule' presents 10 intimate vignettes about self-sabotage, visiting themes like battling mental illness, addiction, alienation and more. The sophomore album by these masters of cacophonous samples and jittery electronic stutter represents a seismic shift in execution by enriching its trademark sound with traces of the romantic yet experimental approach of Roxy Music/Brian Eno as well as 'Berlin'-era Bowie.