The album starts off with "Girl in the War," a protest song with incredibly vivid imagery - imagery that sets the tone for an album filled with dragons, wolves, silent-movie damsels, chambers, battlefields, and mazes. and questions about the nature and existence of God.
Ritter is a hell of a musician and a hell of a vocalist. And he's not afraid to take risks. In "Idaho," a tribute to his home state, he pulls off an a-Capella performance, something you barely notice for the nearly four minutes because Ritter is just that good.
But where Ritter goes full-throttle is the nine-and-a-half-minute stream of conscience, yet still fully-thought out "Thin Blue Flame." This is a song that can't even be described or interpreted in full because so much occurs in this song that to boil it down to being about one single thing would do a disservice to the song. This song is a masterpiece within a masterpiece.
I can't recommend this album highly enough. It's a brilliant collection of music from an artist who continues to amaze me with each and every subsequent album.