[6][7] Recorded live in the studio, the album was produced by Kevin Moloney,[8][9] who helped the band to shorten and rearrange their songs.

[12] In 2023, Heiskell stated that he loved Moloney's production on the album, which introduced more "organic sounds", and added that he felt the band's earlier records had been overproduced by comparison.

"[7] The Chicago Tribune concluded that "Heiskell, a dominant vocal presence live, is still too mannered on record; he's like a drawling male Annie Lennox, with every intonation sounding studied and self-conscious.

"[13] The Republican wrote: "Flying in the face of grunge trends, they pack a rippling batch of melodies into crisp pop tracks like the exhilarating 'Ugly on the Outside'.

"[14] The Washington Post determined that "the Judybats slip loose of their New South neo-folk-rock mold, though not singer/lyricist Jeff Heiskell's sometimes annoying conceits.