It was released on 28 January 2013 through Chemikal Underground Records to critical acclaim.

[11][12] It was self-recorded by Anthony in Aberdeenshire, Glasgow and the Bernese Oberland in the first half of 2012.

[13][14] The album deals primarily with themes of nature, love, sex, death, memory, nostalgia and the passage of time[6][13][15] and has a stripped back sound and emphasis on acoustic instrumentation that is markedly different from Anthony's prior work with The Phantom Band.

[7][16] Critics noted the influence on the album of iconic artists such as Leonard Cohen, Will Oldham, Bill Callahan, Jason Molina, Jim Reid (folk musician), Alasdair Roberts and Neil Young[6][16][17] as well as the dark, sparse Southern gothic prose of Cormac McCarthy and the surreal fantasy of Alasdair Gray.

[14][18] Anthony has also spoken of the influence that landscape and nature has on his writing, specifically the scenery of his native Aberdeenshire[15] and the mountains of the Bernese Alps.