Pitchfork described the album as "[missing] the masterful mark" but still "a solid effort—a step in a promising new direction" and "not so much power pop or even necessarily powerful pop—just powered up pop, all horns and echoes and toe-tapping parties",[3] while Paste Magazine called it, "Roderick's strongest work to date".[4]
Many reviews remark on Roderick's songwriting, calling him "a master storyteller",[5] as well as the album's stylistic continuity despite the band's lineup changes.[6] Keith Phipps, writing for the A.V. Club, said, "changing has meant growing into a band that's tougher to ignore than ever."[7]
Track listing
All tracks are written by John Roderick
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Pushover"
2:38
2.
"Fire Island, AK"
3:42
3.
"Teaspoon"
2:54
4.
"Hindsight"
4:07
5.
"Sky is Open"
3:12
6.
"Honest"
3:52
7.
"Clouds"
3:34
8.
"Rich Wife"
3:56
9.
"Ultimatum"
3:06
10.
"(It's a) Departure"
3:04
11.
"Seven"
3:26
Total length:
37:31
International edition
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Rich Wife"
3:56
2.
"Pushover"
2:38
3.
"Fire Island, AK"
3:42
4.
"Teaspoon"
2:54
5.
"Ultimatum"
3:06
6.
"Sky is Open"
3:12
7.
"Clouds"
3:34
8.
"Honest"
3:52
9.
"Hindsight"
4:07
10.
"(It's a) Departure"
3:04
11.
"Seven"
3:26
12.
"The Commander Thinks Aloud" (†)
5:26
13.
"Ultimatum (acoustic)" (†)
3:38
14.
"Everything Is Talking" (†)
4:00
15.
"Delicate Hands" (†)
3:59
Total length:
54:34
Notes
† denotes tracks originally released on the 2005 EP Ultimatum
The song "(It's A) Departure" served as the theme song to the comedy advice podcast My Brother, My Brother and Me from January 17, 2011[10] until 2021, as well as to the television series based on the podcast. Roderick since appeared on the podcast, as well as toured with the podcast's live shows and performed the song live to introduce the show.[11] However, it was announced on January 3, 2021 that after a controversy involving Roderick on Twitter they would no longer be using the song.
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