Produced by Elliott Smith archivist and Tape Op editor/founder Larry Crane, My Sad Captains’ sophomore long-player was penned when singer Ed Wallis found himself alone in San Francisco on Thanksgiving. Add to that a foreboding album title, and it should be obvious before hitting “play” that no songs here sound anything like Andrew W.K. The opening track, “Orienteers,” blends minimal drumbeats with hushed guitars, earnest bass line choices, and Wallis’ double-tracked whisper-sung vocals. Oscillating tones, mechanized rhythms, and an overall minimal approach to instrumental layering give “The Homefront Pt. II” a chilly and desolate krautrock feel. Over pedaling rhythms, keyboard drones, steady guitar strumming, and Wallis’ nasal inflections sung in an affected West Coast accent (he’s from London), the beautifully gloomy “Resolutions” recalls moments from Grandaddy’s 2000 album The Sophtware Slump. Even at its poppiest, “Little Joanne” sounds like the band members brought their instruments to bed and played this hazy little ditty lying down while Crane set up mics and rolled tape.