 Leading up to the recording process , Dean had been listening to country , drawing inspiration from 1960s guitarists like Jimmy Bryant , Speedy West , Hank Garland , Pete Drake , Hank Snow and Aerosmith 's Brad Whitford . Songs like " Hickory Dichotomy " gave Weiland and Kretz a " Down South " and " swampy kind of feeling " . Although it was recorded in standard tuning , " Hickory Dichotomy " features a slide guitar solo performed in open G. Both " Cinnamon " and " Maver " were recorded with a Telecaster set up for Nashville tuning , and Dean described " First Kiss on Mars " as having a " down @-@ home country kind of feel " , but noted Weiland 's influence on the song : " That title takes it to this whole other plateau . " 
