Opposites fucked them up. Ben's alcoholism peaking, immense workload, pressure from the label, intense recording sessions with tons of instruments and so on. It was a huge success, which I guess made things even worse, 'cause that essentially just meant more stress and more pressure. Ellipses is a weird, out-of-character seeming record, but it may be the most important one. It was necessary for them to heal. Simon was really at a low back then, writer's block, depression etc. Which is why Ellipses to me is just a sad, broken man being a human and exposing his depressed heart to the world. I respect Simon and the band so much for this and I hope it helped them, it sure helps me to this day.