[4] The recording sessions involved the primary trio of Robert Fisher, Paul Austin, and Sean O'Brien, with many other musicians contributing in the studio, including Walter Salas-Humara.

[5] The Boston Herald called the album "a gorgeous disc, offering sleek, slo-fi subtleties and chiming acoustic refrains...

"[13] The Boston Globe wrote that "the Willard Grant Conspiracy is a brilliant, evocative band that floats in the melancholic pool as do the Tindersticks, Nick Cave, and Mark Eitzel.

"[8] CMJ New Music Monthly noted that the songs "range from suicide waltzes to dynamic, jam-heavy thinking person's rock".

[14] The Washington Post determined that "as impressive as the atmospherics are ... Austin's chord changes are monotonous and Fisher's vocals tend to become as pompous as Jim Morrison's—though without the Doors' pop hooks.