Named after a tree species native to Northern California, the album sees McCombs incorporate the more economical song structures of his prime material with the help of some of his earliest musical cohorts, including Jason Quever (Papercuts) and Chris Cohen. McCombs recorded much of the new material in the Bay Area, not far from where they had cut their musical teeth (as documented on last year’s archival release, Seed Cake On Leap Year). Additional recording in New York City brought with it contributions from other perennial collaborators such as Matt Sweeney and Mike Bones.