I made an album about three themes: vulnerability, water, and head wounds. One or two of those were an accident. Particularly, the head wound part, but nevertheless, I lyrically mention two separate head injuries received during my lifetime (one serious-one decidedly minor). I believe I have fully recovered from those childhood injuries, but one can never be so sure.

It's hard to define the actual definition of recovery, and in that notion, growth. Over in China, their economy is booming faster than reality can handle, yet people my age are finding it hard to do normal growing up like getting married and buying a home, just like they are in America.

www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/09/28/bachelor_padding

This begs a bigger question of what's really wrong with my generation, where practically everyone is in a constant state of wait. Those who are single aren't ready for marriage. Those who are married aren't ready for kids. Those who have kids are in mountains of debt. Actually, most people are in some way. Student loan debt is at a record 20% of households.

bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/07/14246378-student-loans-backed-by-government-crush-many-families?lite

It doesn't help that the unemployment rate out of law school is 45%.

So yeah, I wanted to make a record that was the opposite of escapism, which has gotten to the point in modern music that I don't even know what dreamland people need to go to in order to relax. On that theme, I avoided linear rhythm patterns, and have hidden a ton of subfrequencies that aren't audible on your laptop speakers or iPod headphones.

This is the first time I've ever made an album completely by myself, and I think the running total of instruments played was about 30. My favorite was the autoharp.

TLDNR
I wrote the first rock song with the phrase, "student loan" in it and a song about the Town of Flower Mound.

- Blake