The trio toes that line at times on this new release without completely falling into pure background fodder. It’s a delicate balance that only the best players could attain. Time will tell if they can maintain it   NPR's Nate Chinen noted "this one feels loose and unburdened. It's the strongest album of Lage's career so far, and the first that fully captures his trademark melding of fleet precision, open-road possibility and radiant self-assurance. If that sounds like a distinctly American set of qualities, so be it: Lage is a distinctly American sort of artist. His musical persona draws from the expansive jazz continuum (ragtime to bebop and beyond) as well as rustic folk music and the blues. And because this trio features him on a Fender Telecaster, the countrified side of his playing often shines through". In JazzTimes Natalie Weiner wrote "Lage’s 11 original compositions abstract some of the most iconic sounds in American music, with hints of rock, country and folk all coming through in his warm, intimate tone ... That is not to say the cozy result lacks urgency. Lage’s virtuosity manifests in precise, clear improvisation that doesn’t require technical fireworks, spotlighting instead his remarkable gift for melody. In the few moments when his experimental side comes through, though, it’s clear how important dissonance and dynamics are to tempering the album’s generally gentle, whimsical sound". All compositions by Julian Lage