Upon receiving the most recent release from the first person to see an elephant, tout est factice, I knew that it was going to be a unique experience. Even before I was able to get the CD in my player, I was struck by the plain, brown cardboard carrier that was hand painted, stamped, and screened, creating textures not normally found on an album. Inside was a slide of an older couple having dinner at a restaurant. As I sat wondering about the image, I pressed play.

The aesthetic presented on the packaging carries through into the music on the album. The opening track, "We are the countries", is an epic work that not only sets the tone but also lays a map for the entire album. Spanning the entire first quarter of the album, the song is a journey clearly influenced by traditional blues and folk that weaves a winding path through not only the traditional and somewhat conventional sounds, but also the experimental.

The musical transitions throughout the album are skillfully handled and aided by the consistent ambiance given off by the recording. The music seems aged like an old photograph — distant and intriguing — and is easily capable of enveloping the listener in a mysterious sense of longing. The songs are forgotten memories and the elements of the CD’s packaging are the artifacts found in the attic that bring them back.