The band began work on the album with producer Joe Chiccarelli, engineers Lars Fox and Ian Kirkpatrick, and mixer Michael H. Brauer in early 2010.

Young the Giant lead singer Sameer Gadhia described the album as having a "summery, kind of an Orange County sound."

Drummer Francois Comtois noted that working with Chiccarelli for the sessions "was incredibly intimidating, but he kicked our asses into shape.

Gadhia described that the band wanted to "have the arrangements cascade together and, tonally, we all worked hard with Joe to recreate the fervor and wetness of splashing waves.

"[6] Another song, "Cough Syrup", was co-written by former bandmate Ehson Hashemian and dates back to the 2008 EP "Shake My Hand", when the band was still known as The Jakes.

Jody McCutcheon of ChartAttack described the album as having "12 songs rich in texture and progression, vocal hooks and catchy guitar riffs," and said the band "suffuse their sound with a thick, juicy ecstasy.

"[17] Caitlin Meyer commends the album for "boasting consistent catchiness while also incorporating a delectable combination of continuity, depth, and progression.

"[18] David Menconi of Spin compliments the manner in which "Sameer Gadhia sings in a declara-tive key of unwavering determination, undergirded by Jacob Tilley's sophisticated guitar sprawl and Francois Comtois' martial drums as the band's debut album goes marching on and on and on.

[23] Chris Conaton of PopMatters called the album unoriginal, and that the band knows "how to replicate the strong moments in rock history.

"[11] Pitchfork's Ian Cohen called the album "devoid of personality," explaining that "politely distorted guitars twist and churn but never turn into riffs.