of a new relationship & "crucial, seemingly trivial moments that so often comprise the highlights of our lives" through a "trip to the hardware store". The song features the refrain "It's all downhill from here". "All These Governors" begins with MacKaye proclaiming: "Generally, I don't speak ill of the dead. However, I may make an exception in this case." The song then goes on to launch "a litany of charges against elected officials with the line, "When things should work, but don't work, that's the work of all these governors."" The song "Mt. Pleasant Isn't" references & discusses the 1991 riot of the same name as well as touching upon issues such as gentrification. "Around the Corner"'s lyrics deal with preserving one's youthful beliefs and ideals as one grows older, while songs such as "On the Face of It" and the closing track "You Won't Feel a Thing" offer "vague warnings about capitalism" and tackle "modern-day propaganda ministers" respectively. Packaging The cover image of the album depicts a silhouetted elephant in a cage, taken by MacKaye's sister-in-law Lely Constantinople. Of the image's political significance, MacKaye stated: "I think you’ll have to see the whole thing to really get the sense of it. I hadn’t even thought about the more overt, obvious political reference. To me, there’s a whole other level. But I think people will look at it and take what they want; I think it’s a beautiful picture." Release The album was released through Dischord Records in the spring of 2005, on CD, 12" vinyl and digitally. A free MP3 download of the album came with the (now out-of-stock) vinyl when purchased directly from the label. It was also the first non-Fugazi album released by Ian MacKaye since 1987's Embrace. Reception The album received mostly positive reviews, scoring a 72 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 19 reviews, indicating a "[g]enerally favorable" reception. Tiny Mix Tapes described the songwriting on the album as "excellent" and "remarkably diverse", whilst Rob Theakston of Allmusic called the album a "major leap" forward for both MacKaye and Farina. "Ultimately," writes Matthew Murphy for Pitchfork, "this eponymous debut not only introduces the Evens as a wholly distinct and vital group, but also contains performances that MacKaye would likely have been unable to deliver in any other context." Despite warning that the listener shouldn't expect any "hair-raising shouts of defiance", Spin commended the album