[4] The album's title is derived from a phrase used by Martin Luther King Jr. in reference to America's involvement in the Vietnam War.

He concludes his review saying that the album is "another fine entry in a body of work that strives to break down barriers by eliminating preconceptions as to what music should or shouldn't be".

[10] Dylan Hicks of City Pages call the album Douglas's "strongest effort" since signing with Bluebird,[11] similarly Chris Dahlen of Pitchfork calls the album "a set of music that's simply one of the best written, paced and performed works in his catalog",[2] in The New York Times Ben Ratliff calls it "the best album in several years by Dave Douglas",[3] and Thom Jurek from Allmusic writes "in its imagination and depth it is one of the high marks of Douglas' thus far prolific career".

[8] In All About Jazz, Marc Meyers says the album "explod[es] in a veritable riot of colors, moods, idioms, and rhythms".

[4] Billboard named the album a 'Critics' Choice' with Dan Ouellette calling it "a reflective, whimsical and driving quintet date".