Hughes' live band during this period contained a rotating cast of members, including Barbara Gruska (of Jenny Lewis and The Belle Brigade) on drums; two of Hughes' former Muscadine bandmates; solo-artist and producer Jonathan Wilson on guitar and backing vocals, and Stacy Leazer on bass and backing vocals; Ciancia on keyboards; solo artist and producer Jon Lindsay on keyboards and vocals,[1] and veteran Charlotte musicians Peter Gray (guitar) and David Kim (drums), among others.

[2][3] The album received favorable reviews from some prominent critics, including Jon Pareles of The New York Times[4] and Chuck Klosterman of Esquire,[5] but it sold few copies.

Hughes made a cameo appearance in the 2009 film Gentlemen Broncos as Benjamin Purvis' father, only ever depicted in a photograph.

[9] Los Angeles Times critic Mikael Wood called him "something of a cult hero thanks to his brilliant and demented pop records.

"[6] A lengthy 2014 profile by New York music critic Jody Rosen commented that Hughes's extensive following among other musicians and other celebrities was such that "[h]e may have as many famous admirers as civilian ones", and praised his songs for "the way they toss together zingy pop-culture references and traditionalist songcraft; their blend of hepcat shagginess and poetic precision; and especially the mix of wry and lavishly romantic, of tongue-in-cheek and heart-on-sleeve.