Allen confirmed on April 4, 2012, via a WhoSay Twitter-based fan interview (and reiterated in following interviews) that the album's title is a reference to the home that he shared with friends from his home state of Arkansas while living in Los Angeles, where he recorded the majority of the songs featured on his sophomore release.

Ceding that the songs may come off "downright Amish" compared to contemporaries on the pop charts, Smith noted that "Allen delivers his lyrics with an earnest confidence (and occasional swagger) that keeps his songs from becoming treacly," concluding that the album was "a cohesive, warmhearted charmer.

"[2] Yahoo Music's Lyndsey Parker observed that "[Allen's] songwriting skills have clearly grown more sophisticated," praising the range of the material from "jaunty, summer-convertible-cruising anthems" to darker tracks such as "the propulsive and sinister alt-rocker 'Monster'" and noting that "the lyrics are plain-spoken, refreshingly unflowery, and .

[7] Allen performed new material from his forthcoming album for the first time at a sold out show at The Mint in Los Angeles on February 9, 2012.

[8] Allen performed "The Vision of Love" and other new material from his forthcoming album at the Live in the Vineyard festival on April 13 at the Uptown Theater, in Napa, California.