New Cale

I'm trying to decide if the new John Cale album deserves all the fuss it's getting. I'm not putting it down at all, but I'm just not blown away. Cale sounds like a cross between late-era Pete Townshend and Nick Cave, which really is a good thing. There are few great songs: "Things" and "Letter from Abroad" for starters. There are no duds (with the possible exception of "Things X"). Even the bonus EP has five solid tracks. The Stylus review reads, "Hobo Sapiens ought to be one of the avant-pop templates for years to come." Really?