Lovely album, but with a much cleaner sound which might be somewhat disappointing for those who expect Banhart to remain within the lo-fi aesthetics of his earlier albums. I hear two very strong influences on this album which I hadn't heard so clearly before. The first one is John Fahey's odd choice of melodies (Banhart, gifted musician as he is, is not the finger-picking master Fahey was), you can hear it on Now That I Know and Sawkill River for example. The other big influence is Pearls Before Swine. Cripple Crow sounds remarkably similar to Translucent Carriages off of Balaklava complete with whispered vocals in the background. There is an obvious political overtone to this song which would make for interesting comparisons to Tom Rapp's renowned anti-war album, I don't see it as simple rip-off. Other highlights include I Feel Just Like A Child and Hey Mama Wolf.