[2] According to Ritter: "Lyrically, musically, and in terms of production, it's the most adventurous record I've made yet and I think when you hear it you're going to be surprised.

The lyrics of the album's Dylanesque opening track, "To the Dogs or Whoever," contains a number of historical references, many of them to traditional American cultural and mythological figures: The second verse of the song "Empty Hearts": I'm inside with my friends We build fires and pretend That the night could just bend on forever While outside in the frost Are the wolves and the lost

The title of the first track on the CD is never mentioned in that song's lyrics, but Ritter self-referentially uses it in the lyrics of "Empty Hearts," suggesting that the songs on the CD may have an interrelated design.

[9] As with previous albums, Ritter was compared to the great American songwriters like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.

Initial copies of the album included a limited-edition bonus EP CD containing "four little tracks – interesting 'bits and pieces' – from the recording sessions.