Claude says:James Mercer sketched some of these songs while still in his old band Flake Music, then broke away to chase the jangly, Elephant 6-leaning sound he heard in his head — oldies melodies refracted through indie rock shimmer. Sub Pop signed them on the strength of "New Slang" alone, and the album landed in 2001 to critical fanfare, though Mercer later admitted he wasn't thrilled with how it sounded on tape. You had a couple stray plays in '06 and '07, but it didn't click until March 2008 — seven years after release — when you ran through it hard, then circled back in 2015 and have kept "New Slang" and "Caring Is Creepy" in regular play since.