Forgot to post yesterday but Swordfishtrombones is so good. Admittedly there's other Waits albums I usually reach for before this one, but objectively speaking it's probably one of his best and definitely an important turning point in his discography. As always, the lyricism and vocals are top notch. Shifting away from the more traditional sound of his previous albums feels like it helped to respark his creativity, as he's flexing his ability to craft singularly strange, unsettling & darkly humorous stories and images more effectively here than ever before. It's funny too, because knowing that he only leans harder into the surreal subject matter and unconventional instrumentation on future albums makes you realize that this actually isn't that far removed from his 70s output at a lot of points, but at the time this must have come as a huge shock to listeners expecting another Heartattack and Vine. It's most certainly a 5, although I suspect many of you already know that.
Also I soooo wish that Trouble's Braids was longer. Such a cool sounding song.