[2] From the beginning, the bleak, wry poetry found on the admittedly low-fi release attracted attention, with Crash Magazine declaring "Kyp has his own style.
[2][4] Drummer Don Kerr produced the album,[4] diverging from the bare bones sound of 'Nowhere Fast' to implement cello, trumpet, and sax in creating a more colourful backdrop for Harness' circusy/cinematic lyrics.
The record prompted Id Magazine to observe that "Harness is an urban poet of the highest order; no-one who cares about the state of songwriting in this country or any other can afford to ignore him any longer".
The Calgary Straight noted "I won't mince words: Right now, Kyp Harness is the most vital, essential Canadian singer-songwriter out there."
Porterbeach also released the double album The Floating World in 2002,[6] a tour de force of 26 songs running the gamut from solo acoustic ballads to bar-room rockers featuring the avant-garde rock trio The Dinner Is Ruined.
One of Harness' most polished recordings, the album contains the pop songs "Diamonds in the Air" and "Mayor of Crazytown" as well as poetic pieces such as "Horseman" and "Fields of Plenty".
Fugitives in 2006 found Harness affirming his Christian faith with such proclamations as "Man on the Cross", "Devil's Got a Foothold in your Heart" and "Calm Down", and in the liner notes he describes his vision of God as "far from being a mascot for war, for stealing from the poor to give to the rich, for anti-choice and sexual discrimination.
Mary Margaret O'Hara, Bob Wiseman and Ron Sexsmith, who covers Harness' "Thumbelina Farewell" on his Blue Boy album (2001).