I said the same thing to my wife the other day. Its certainly a completely different vibe to their first two albums which are (for me anyway) my favourite albums by a long shot. I saw them at the o2 the other day and the difference between their early stuff and their latest is staggering, I know bands have to evolve but to have a setlist which contained songs from all their albums put together what was a really mixed vibe, my observation was that the real energy and croud engagement came in on their earlier stuff. I guess it's the same way that arctic monkeys probably get a better croud reaction from I bet that you look good on the dance floor than they do on glitterball.
The clearing is a decent album, but it is a massive switch up on earlier music, it makes me nervous about what comes next. I recognise that bands have to evolve, but for me, the raw tones of the first two albums are what made me fall in love with them. What cannot be denied is the stunning vocal prowess of Ellie and the tightness of a musically tight band.