It is a concept album featuring Olga Sarantos, grandmother of the band's Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger, narrating stories relating to her life.

Now, I wouldn't guess that the Main Character actually thought the woman concerned was riding around in a Norton side-car and operating her own cottage industry trinket assembly/sweatshop: but it might have pleased her to picture it so.

They're from Chicago's south suburbs and don't figure in the rest of the record; I wanted to have another (slightly younger) grandmother and family in there for perspective or comparison's sake, so to speak.

JSpicer at Tiny Mix Tapes called it a "Great American Novel via guitars, drums, bells, and whistles" and admired its envelope-pushing sound and unique storytelling.

[9] Justin Cober-Lake at PopMatters found the storytelling "neither nuanced nor complex" and wrote that the music "lacks the focus, coherence, and development to be rewarding beyond a novelty listen.