[1] The four years that followed the release of Shadow Weaver were a tumultuous period for the band, particularly for lead singer and guitarist Derri Daugherty and drummer and lyricist Steve Hindalong.

Daugherty's side project Kerosene Halo—a partnership with the 77s' Michael Roe—generated two new studio releases in 2016, House on Fire and Live Simple.

After a successful Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund their previous album Shadow Weaver, the Choir briefly shifted to PledgeMusic to finance Bloodshot and the remastered re-release of Wide-Eyed Wonder.

[6] Due to artist payment issues with the PledgeMusic platform, the Choir would return to Kickstarter to crowdfund all future studio albums and re-releases.

Due to Daugherty's role as caregiver for his ailing father, the production of this album was split between Nashville and Neverland Studios in Southern California, where Circle Slide and Kissers and Killers were recorded.

[4] Hindalong "went back and forth a lot," and both he and Daugherty wrote a number of songs together in California, including "Bloodshot Eyes" and "Summer Rain.

[4] The strings were orchestrated by long-time collaborator Matt Slocum of Sixpence None the Richer, and featured David Davidson on violin, a session musician who had played on albums for artists as diverse as Leonard Cohen, Dolly Parton and Chicago.

[18] "Magic" directly referenced the Will Ferrell movie Elf in both the music and lyrics, as Hindalong designed the drum fill to be a "sound effect" that captured the snowball scene in the film.

[6] In one instance, an entire family came out to support their daughter's performance on the track "We've Got the Moon," then watched a solar eclipse together with the band.

[20] These types of intimately personal guest contributions would become a regular feature of crowdfunded Choir albums, prompting Michaels to say that "it's a testament to mutual trust with our fans that we can bring them this closely into our process.

[22] While the lyrics that referenced Hindalong's divorce gained the most attention from critics,[5][23] the topic is only addressed directly in three songs, "House of Blues," "Only Reasons" and "Birds, Bewildered.

[24] Initially, it was inspired by a promotional idea that Michaels had about a scheduled gig at the House of Blues in San Diego on the Wide-Eyed Wonder anniversary tour in 2017.

"[14] To lighten the tone of the album, Hindalong wrote "Californians on Ice," which poked fun at the band members' inability to adapt to the cold Tennessee winters when they first moved to Nashville in 1993.

I think it's just our work ethic and perseverance, and the fact that—early on—our sound, our performance and [Steve's] words made an indelible mark on people, and it's kind of lasted the test of time."

Hindalong's observations of blue herons at Radnor Lake in Oak Hill, Tennessee were referenced in the lyrics to provide a visual image of the song's theme.

Alex Caldwell, in the first of two reviews from Jesus Freak Hideout, said, "you aren't likely to hear a heartbreaking subject like divorce treated with this level of transparency from a standpoint of faith in many places.

"[23] John Underdown, in the even higher-rated second review, agreed: "the songs grow on the listener with each spin and the depth of the writing is compelling with great use of imagery.

Brian Q. Newcomb from The Fire Note pointed out that "the music here is more high energy and positive sounding than you would expect with this content.

"[36] Jerry Wilson from Cephas Hour summed up Bloodshot as "the most straightforward album The Choir has ever recorded," calling the songs "simpler without being simplistic: more direct, more immediately accessible.”[37] All lyrics by Steve Hindalong.