"Apple [UI design] took on an impossible task… And even if the premise was solid, I still wish I could say: they did the best they could, given the goal. But that’s not true either: they did a poor job consistently applying the metaphors and designing the icons themselves.”

https://tonsky.me/blog/tahoe-icons/

Yup. Tahoe's redesign, perfectly summarized: self-inflicted problems, executed poorly, contradicting their own stated principles.

Good riddance to its DRI. Fingers crossed for a better macOS 27.