 Hamilton had previously worked with Lou Reed, Justin Timberlake and RJD2.The album was released on January 24, 2006.It received a positive review and received 3.5/5 stars from Allmusic, who wrote ""[p]"itched somewhere between the Postal Service's indie electronica and the bedsit romanticism of Belle & Sebastian or the Clientele, "Painting Over the Dirt" fuses smart, melodic pop songwriting to a melancholy worldview exemplified by Wolferman's barely there vocals and minor-key tunes."