"For those of you who have seen my simpering, slavishly  devotional Akron/Family blurbs and press releases in the past, wherein I  make ridiculous claims about them (which I happen to believe!), it should  come as no surprise when I reiterate they are one of the best bands on the  planet. I don't recall seeing such fantastic live shows ever, except maybe  Pere Ubu at the Whiskey in LA circa 1978 or Ummagumma-era Pink Floyd circa  1968/9. Take those unrelated reference points and mix in The Beatles,  Chicago Art Ensemble, CCR, The Grateful Dead, The Hollies, The Butthole  Surfers, Led Zeppelin, and you might get a notion--probably not. Anyway,  this record comes the closest to bridging the gap between the chaos, rock  action, tribal bongo-banging and sentimental sing-alongs of their live  shows and the necessarily more cerebral, or at least worked-over and  layered process of recording in the studio. So, there are beautiful songs  and harmonies on this album, and also wild and weird jams, all in the  service of their chosen Deity, or Nothingness, or LOVE, or whatever it is  they're on about." --Michael Gira/Young God Records