[9] Savior grew up listening to "a lot of soul and grunge", including her father's records by artists such as Pearl Jam, Otis Redding, and Jimi Hendrix.

Afterwards they sat me on a stool and asked me, “Do you want to be like Pink or Katy Perry?” And I thought, “Oh, what have I gotten myself into?” By April 2013, Savior had done some modeling for Erin Fetherston and said she hoped her first album would be out soon.

[9] Despite this, she stated that Columbia was the best choice given that other labels were interested in modeling her after established pop artists such as Katy Perry or Pink.

[1] In 2014, Savior began writing and recording her material for her debut studio album in Los Angeles with James Ford of The Last Shadow Puppets and Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys as producers.

[9][21] The album initially had the working title Strange Portrait,[22] but was retitled Belladonna of Sadness after the 1973 Japanese anime of the same name.

[25] Belladonna of Sadness was mostly completed by June 2015,[9] during which time Savior gave limited concert appearances, usually before industry audiences in the media capitals of Los Angeles, New York, and London.

", the British newspaper NME wrote: "The striking and smoky vocals belong solely to Savior and ooze a burgeoning star power well beyond her tender age of 21.

[20] Savior was also featured as a guest vocalist on the song "Providence Sky" by Brooklyn-based music project Dark Tea, released in December 2016.

[20] During the winter of 2017, Savior supported Hamilton Leithauser as an opening act for his West Coast tour dates.

After the release of Belladonna of Sadness, Savior submitted demos to Columbia for her second album, but the label rejected them before dropping her after her manager quit.

[34] Savior said this was a difficult time for her as she felt Columbia's termination of her record contract marked a significant failure, and possibly the end of her career.

[34] While attending community college, she was asked by producer Danger Mouse to record vocals for the Broken Bells track "Good Luck", which was released in September 2019.

[37] James Mercer of Broken Bells and The Shins subsequently requested Savior's demos, and she was soon signed to Danger Mouse's independent label, 30th Century Records.

[35] In June 2019, two years after releasing Belladonna of Sadness, Savior returned with the lead single from her second studio album, The Archer, titled "Crying All the Time".

[39] A limited run of vinyl LP versions of the album were independently produced and made available for sale on Savior's official website.

[41]Savior has cited several singer-songwriters as musical influences, including Connie Converse,[41] Karen Dalton, and Sibylle Baier, commenting that she was inspired by artists "who have life stories.