Arrows and Anchors

Arrows and Anchors is the fourth and final studio album by the Texas progressive rock band Fair to Midland, released on July 11, 2011, by E1 Music in North America. In Europe, the record was released by Season of Mist the day before. The album was produced, recorded and mixed by Joe Barresi.^[2][3][4] The record peaked at No. 65 on the Billboard 200.

Arrows and Anchors
Studio album by Fair to Midland
Released	July 11, 2011 (2011-07-11)
Recorded	November–December 2010 at Joe's House of Compression, Pasadena, California
Genre	Alternative metal, progressive rock[1]
Length	54:37
Label	E1 Music Season of Mist
Producer	Joe Barresi
Fair to Midland chronology
Fables from a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True (2007) Arrows and Anchors (2011)
Singles from Arrows and Anchors
"Musical Chairs" Released: April 4, 2011 "Amarillo Sleeps on My Pillow" Released: May 19, 2011

Release and promotion

On April 4, the band debuted the album's first single, "Musical Chairs", on the website ArtistDirect.com.^[5] It became available on iTunes on April 18. On May 19, the band released the track "Amarillo Sleeps on My Pillow" for free download on their website.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Revolver	[7]
Melodic.net	[8]

The album debuted at no. 65 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 7,000 copies and marking the band's highest spot on the chart.^[9]

Track list

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Heavens to Murgatroyd"	0:44
2.	"Whiskey & Ritalin"	3:37
3.	"Musical Chairs"	3:32
4.	"Uh-Oh"	4:16
5.	"Amarillo Sleeps on My Pillow"	4:42
6.	"A Loophole in Limbo"	3:39
7.	"Typhoid Mary Sends Her Best"	0:56
8.	"Short-Haired Tornado"	4:19
9.	"The Upset at Bailey Bridge"	0:52
10.	"Rikki Tikki Tavi"	3:25
11.	"Golden Parachutes"	3:44
12.	"Bright Bulbs & Sharp Tools"	3:57
13.	"Coppertank Island"	3:10
14.	"Three Foolproof Ways to Buy the Farm"	2:47
15.	"The Greener Grass"	10:57

All lyrics are written by Darroh Sudderth; all music is composed by Fair to Midland.

European limited edition and US iTunes bonus track

No.	Title	Length
16.	"Pour the Coal to 'er"	3:32

US iTunes and official website pre-order bonus track

No.	Title	Length
17.	"Rikki Tikki Tavi" (Live)	3:21

Official website pre-order bonus track

No.	Title	Length
18.	"Uh Oh" (Live)	4:34

The live versions of "Rikki Tikki Tavi" and "Uh-Oh" were also released as B-sides on the digital single "Amarillo Sleeps on My Pillow".

No further tracks were recorded for the album, however several songs were considered for the album during pre-production:

• The titles "The Dead Sea", "Ember Rose" and "Babe Ruthe" (reportedly re-titled to "God Save Us") can be seen written on the band's pre-production track list.^{[citation needed]}

Personnel

Fair to Midland

• Darroh Sudderth – vocals, banjo on "Amarillo Sleeps on My Pillow"
• Cliff Campbell – guitar
• Jon Dicken – bass guitar
• Matt Langley – keyboards, marxophone
• Brett Stowers – drums

Production

• Brian Gardner – mastering
• Isaac "Eye-Sack" Flores – artwork
• Sean Oakley – assistant engineer
• Jun Murakawa – assistant engineer
• Morgan Stratton – assistant engineer
• Joe Barresi – mixed, recorded, producer

Charts

Chart (2011)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200[9]	65