Artists of all kinds seem increasingly dependent on the events of their own lives. They becoming accustomed to exposing themselves and being exposed to others -- making realistic films with lifelike plots, writing books based directly on their mundane lives, writing songs about writing songs, and photographing their friends hanging out at parties. And consumers, increasingly, want to know whether or not they are consuming something “real”. Instead of adding to the poignancy and intimacy of the art, this kind of direct translation seems to simplify feelings and events into something immediately relatable, which makes things easier to understand and takes less mental energy to consume, but ultimately, for me, flattens the experience. In some cases, too, I almost see this full disclosure as a defense mechanism, a built-in argument against any potential criticism, artistic or formal, when the answer is always “Well, that’s what really happened.”
     While I admire the honesty, lyrical playfulness and inventive sonic juxtapositions of the album, I take issue with its marketing. Whether it was the decision of Josiah, Anticon or the publicists, the album is presented in press releases as a “divorce album” and, as often happens, the tone of the press release innevitably finds its way into reviews of the work including this one. That type of presentation of this or any work is in the end reductive. It’s obvious enough, in listening to the lyrics that a significant breakup has happened. But the content of the album is much deeper and more complex than that, and it was difficult to separate what I heard on the record from the information I had been presented with. Of course,  songwriters have used material from their own lives as a source of inspiration throughout history, but it seems like a step backward to take it to another level and spell out what the songs are about beforehand.
     Then again, it can be therapeutic to be explicit about one’s personal life. “Creating something is always a good way to get through difficult times,” Josiah writes. “I had lots of emotions through the whole experience. Emotion puts melodies and words into my mind. That is why Vivaldi only composed at night. He said he couldn't get emotional in the morning.”
     Josiah seems self-conscious about the extent of his information-giving, as in the song “Is The Body Hung” when he sings: "Am I giving you partly the wrong cue of what my life is?/ Am I giving you partly the wrong view of just how nice it is?"
      “Anytime you put personal songs into the public it is a bit of a strange thing. Think about Elliott Smith or Daniel Johnston. Your entire view of them is based on their deepest emotions yet you know nothing about their daily selves. This is my first time doing this so I am a little unsure about it,” Wolf said, when I asked about the experience of publicizing his feelings. “My ex-wife likes [the album] a lot. That made me feel very good. I was afraid for her to hear it but when she did it was a definite part of the healing process for me. My family likes it. It makes my mom sad. My girlfriend likes it. It doesn't bother me at all to have people I care about hearing it. If anything makes me nervous it is having strangers hearing it but obviously I'm willing to take that risk.”
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