The policemen severally presented him with a pipe, a tin of tobacco, two boxes of matches and a dictionary, and then they withdrew leaving him to his own devices.

There are also some new faces, like Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab and Jay Israelson of the new wavey psych-pop collective Lansing-Dreiden, but they don't change the sound much: more organic and melodic than most post-rock, Pierce's music is essentially fusiony electric-acoustic pop, its jazzy drums and shimmering flamenco guitars rushing along with the cool momentum of illbient electronica or IDM.

There can be, if I forebode aright, no power, short of the Divine mercy, to disclose, whether by uttered words, or by type or emblem, the secrets that may be buried with a human heart.

Even if you are ensconced in a pandemic pod with a romantic partner or family members, you can still feel lonely — often camouflaged as sadness, irritability, anger and lethargy — because you’re not getting the full range of human interactions that you need, almost like not eating a balanced diet.