After disbanding the Boo Radleys in late 1998, studio eccentric Martin Carr spent a couple years on the couch and opted to get involved with music again and began writing and recording under the Brave Captain guise. Part of Carr's rationale behind breaking up the Boos was fear of becoming plain; as evidenced with his Brave Captain material, the new path showed no signs of the "normalness" that many of his '90s peers had ventured off to. Carr signed on with Wichita Recordings, the label run by Creation refugees Dick Green and Mark Bowen. His debut 2000 EP, Fingertip Saint Sessions, Vol. I (recorded with Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and Super Furry Animals associate Gorwel Owen), featured a couple songs he'd written while the Boo Radleys were still together.

After disbanding the Boo Radleys in late 1998, studio eccentric Martin Carr spent a couple years on the couch and opted to get involved with music again and began writing and recording under the Brave Captain guise. Part of Carr's rationale behind breaking up the Boos was fear of becoming plain; as evidenced with his Brave Captain material, the new path showed no signs of the "normalness" that many of his '90s peers had ventured off to. Carr signed on with Wichita Recordings, the label run by Creation refugees Dick Green and Mark Bowen. His debut 2000 EP, Fingertip Saint Sessions, Vol. I (recorded with Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and Super Furry Animals associate Gorwel Owen), featured a couple songs he'd written while the Boo Radleys were still together. As they were written with the range-y singing of former Boos sidekick Sice in mind, much of it sounded a bit awkward with Carr taking the vocals. Full-length Go With Yourself (Fingertip Saint Sessions, Vol. II) followed months later to lukewarm reviews, again losing points for Carr's vocals. Minus the shadow of Sice's vocal acrobatics, the shortcoming was easier to see past. The lengthily named Nothing Lives Long, He Sang, Only the Earth and the Mountains was released by Thirsty Ear in early 2001, combining the best moments of Carr's first releases for American consumption. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide