[1]The piece has a duration of 79 minutes and is composed in nine movements:[4] The work is scored for an ensemble comprising three sopranos, clarinet, percussion, guitar, piano, cello, and double bass.
[5] Daniel Stephen Johnson of WQXR-FM said, "At its best, the music of Julia Wolfe is totally relentless, like a steam-powered drill boring a great hole right through the hard heart of a mountain."
"[6] Allan Kozinn of The New York Times lauded Wolfe's mixture of musical styles and wrote:The score draws heavily on classic Minimalist moves.
Ms. Wolfe's opening movement, "Some Say," breaks down the phrase "Some say he’s from," in ways that recall Steve Reich's early tape pieces "It's Gonna Rain" and "Come Out."
Mr. Stewart otherwise provided banjo and dulcimer lines that injected a bluegrass sound into this wild hybrid, and gentle electric guitar figures that added a hint of spookiness.