Dedicated to Efrim's dog, Wanda, the work is divided into two haunting chapters, or suites - 'Lonely as the Sound of Lying on the Ground of an Airplane Going Down', and 'the world is sickSICK; (so kiss me quick)' - and is presented in the usual sumptuous packaging expected from Constellation, with a type of religious sandwich-board man illustrated on the cover. One can only guess at whom this man is heralding - ASMZ or God? This is almost for the mantelpiece rather than the CD rack.

Rarely has something this haunting and life-affirming been committed to tape. Some may frown at my obvious bias, and some may scoff at this style of music, possibly seeing it as too soft, or too contrived. I am a genuine fan, and I am not out for kudos or compensation, and I am definitely not out to curry any corporate favours etcetera: I am here to tell you what I think, and you may agree or disagree as you wish.

On first listening to the album, you become aware of a problem inherent in all music produced by these people, and, to a certain extent, the music produced by some other artists around today, for instance The Mars Volta. The problem is that of a concept called, in English Literature, enjambment, that is one line running into the next, or one song flowing into the next, creating a blur between two songs. Especially difficult when you have the vinyl copy, let me tell you. Persevere though, and you will realise that this has not been done by accident: it is a deliberate technique used to flow through the album in an uninterrupted current. And it works.

The opening track, 'Broken Chords Can Sing a Little', lilts along on a vesper of simple piano, augmented by haunting violin work, and is as beautiful and yearning as the title, as though everything in the world has a point. It flows nicely, and mid-way through, the listener begins to hear preachers quoting the Bible (specifically the Book of Daniel, the Old Testament equivalent to the New Testament Book of Revelation), showing that the link with Godspeed is still there, albeit in a truncated manner. The comparison with Godspeed is effective, as ASMZ have lost none of Godspeed's urgency or rigidity - here it is presented in a stripped down format, but remains as important to modern music as Godspeed are. Additionally, both bands find meaning in quoting things from real life, which strengthens and reinforces their message while underpinning an ironic take they may have on what they are quoting, while using it to their own advantage.

We drift into track two then, 'Sit in the Middle of Three Galloping Dogs', on a wave of Biblical exegesis, and the album begins to pick up pace with an engaging violin 'riff' building over a repetitively simple bassline and some slightly funky percussion, with a definite change at the halfway mark. The drums become more pronounced, and the violin more frenetic, and almost painful in a way, and with a Godspeed-esque chill-out towards the end, bringing in track three, 'Stumble Then Rise on Some Awkward Morning', continuing with the violin line from the previous song, until it is superseded by a descending piano line that refreshes the listener, and takes the album round another corner. The beauty of the title is refreshing also, as it has within it a delicate double entendre. If you consider an American or Canadian pronunciation of "morning" would result in hearing "mourning", which changes the original thought (well mine, anyway) of a hangover into something far more serious and unsettling. The violins appearing over this descending piano transform the track into something of a dirge, leading nicely into...

'Movie (Never Made)', and the most brittle and haunting voice I have heard since Neil Young was ever any good (ok he's still great but the sentence works...), and some of the finest, most haunting and frail, yet powerful lyrics ever written. These are set to a brittle musical underlay that mounts and falls in strange timings, with a skipping, jazz-inspired bassline, and majestic, mournful strings, with a final powerful coda of only piano and voice.

After this catharsis, suite two begins, and for the first time on the album, the listener hears a real division between songs - about two seconds of silence. '13 Angels Standing Guard 'Round the Side of Your Bed' is well named, as it starts with a breathy, light and airy vocal sounding theme, that easily manifests itself as a mantra to drive the track along its symphonic journey, turning into something quite beautiful, yet pained and sorrowful along the way, yet maintaining its allure - the hallmark of ASMZ and Godspeed: the juxtaposition and paradox of hope and sadness, tears and laughter, love and hate, beauty and truth.

Then, we skirt through 'Long March Rocket or Doomed Airliner', a track consisting of five seconds of silence. The fact that the 'long march rocket' is a reference to China's space program, and the fact that the track is silent, may be a political statement. Then again, maybe not.

'Blown-out joy from heaven's mercied hole' begins with a strange, chiming bassline, and a medically challenged vocal line. The track transforms itself into a waltz fit for a funeral, and the aftermath, augmented by the by now mandatory strings and skipping bassline, and towards the end, a strange and hellish vocal line bringing to mind a certain modern-day Metallica tune with a guest appearance by Joni Mitchell (I believe, if I'm wrong please tell me).

The album's closing track comes too early, and bewails the death, through cancer, of Efrim's dog, Wanda. Enough to say that the track is obviously incredibly personal to its composer.

The album itself ends with a hymn-like farewell, played on some sort of pipe or church organ, and brings to a close what is, in a sense, an incredibly religious experience.

This album is a feast for the senses, one of the finest debuts ever released, and illustrates, albeit in monochrome, the multiple positive and negative facets of human life - not just modern day, but throughout the ages. A fantastic achievement, and one worthy of our respect.