Excellent. One of the best of 2006.

This is one of the best albums of the year. Like Neutral Milk Hotel, it's very powerful folk with a flare for Eastern European infliences, and his voice is very welcoming for fans of Magnetic Fields.

Neutral Milk Hotel comparisons are kinda ridiculous... just as he has horns... but it is a damn good album, like a quality Magnetic Fields release. His voice is kind of a mix between Stephin Merritt and Morrissey, which is understandable when you see the myspace. Buy it if you like A Hawk and a Hacksaw or Magnetic Fields and i doubt you'll be disappointed. As has been said, the atmosphere is hard to come by in our rock.… Expand

This old world sound, from this new world band gives life back to music. It's a good thing to experiment with music and an even better thing to debut with it and hit the spot. This album should open eyes if not ears.

It is nearly impossible for only one man to create great folk music, yet Zach Condon manages to capture the spirit of eastern block so well that when listening to this album, images of cruising through narrow roads of Lithuania in an old LADA loop constantly inside of my head.

This is a very impressive and pleasing melange of sounds. Though one can hear Stephen Merritt, Jens Lekman, Nick Cave, and traditional Eastern European folkies to name a few influences, it exists wonderfully and assuredly in its own world.

Clear Neutral Milk Hotel influences to be heard (the producer is in the band) but a good album all the same, very good. Postcards From Italy and Scenic World are the highlights. Hail Anti-Rock!

Beautiful music. Absolutely beautiful.

FIrst listen, intrigued. Second listen, thought i made a mistake and shelved it. Third listen, I have not stopped listening to it. Unique, captivating and yet grounded in an old world. Can't add much but I never want the Cd to end....

great and special album.

I am from (South)Eastern Europe and this melancholie is so close to me.

amazing, amaaazing cd...the best cd of the year. I love the plethora of instruments used to create this unique sound... i love it, maybe its because of my eastern european roots..

decent but way overhyped

Excellent debut, employing varied styles and instrumentation. If you like the Eastern European tracks, check out the Harmonia Ensemble.

great debut. a drunken party somewhere between the balkans and ireland and a really cool song that could belong in the life aquatic. postcards from italy def the center of the album. very grand feeling to the album and his voice works like an instruement. they can def put on a show, saw them in dc in a really small place.

Incredible. I have a lot of experience with balkan music and this is a genuine but original synthesis of the style into the pop format.

Best album of 2006

Travelling to another world.

Great CD ... extremely unique. They're awesome live too

just got this album today in the mail... its pretty awesome, nothing like most "indie' rock.

Stands out from the crowd, loving it!

Very disappointing. The songs are all a muddle of homogeneous instrumentation, and it's very difficult to discern what he's saying. I like Neutral Milk Hotel, but I don't want all the songs to sound like "The Fool." This just didn't mesh with my tastes at all.

Hearing this rich and brilliant album and then reading about Condon's age has made me reevaluate the past few years of my life. . . He perfectly captures the spirit of the style he's emulating without being a slave to authenticity. Genius.