[1][2][3][4][5] The album features Bruiser Brigade rapper ZelooperZ, with production contributions from Black Midi drummer Morgan Simpson, as well as Body Meat, Jam City, and SADPONY.
Once the tracklist came together and we started to make sense of it, one of the last phone conversations we had with Groggs was over his love for the repurposing of Isaac Hayes’ By the Time I Get to Phoenix to title the album.
Shortly thereafter we were struck with his loss and of course everything was put on hold, but eventually, we regathered and felt most comfortable finishing this album we had made as it still resonated fully (in some respects even taking on what felt like haunting pre-echoes) and above all else stayed true to his constant insistence while recording to simply ‘make some weird shit.’ While touring in Europe after the release of their self-titled 2019 album, the group performed an improvised DJ set remixing their songs to create a new avant-garde style; at one point in the set, they remixed Black Country, New Road song "Athens, France".
[8] As an effect, the writing ventures away from the typical verse-chorus structure with most songs lacking a chorus, hook, or bridge to create friction and tension.
"[8]In response to the lyrics, the album embraces a more deconstructed, dissonant sound in terms of production in comparison to the group's previous releases.
In an article for The New Yorker, Sheldon Pearce categorized the album as a "post-rap epic, exploding with poignant music that is hectic, congested, and glitchy.
"[4] Following a year-long silence, the album's release date and name was revealed on the group's social media alongside a statement with no prior warning.
[23] The album cover was designed by band member Parker Corey and was sourced from a frame of a National Geographic documentary, where the camera crew filmed a man standing outside in a dust storm.
[28] Jack Oxford of Clash similarly commended the innovative production, calling it "a truly dystopian impression of despair, smashing together polar opposite genres to create something wholly new" before pondering if the album could be considered "post-rap".
[29] In a positive review for The New Yorker, Sheldon Pearce discussed the effectiveness of the group's multi-genre approach, writing, "It’s in the smoking wreckage of the Injury Reserve sound that the members found the radical yet tuneful music they’d been seeking all along—it isn’t rap or pop or punk, but it’s also all of those things at once".
[4] In a more mixed review, Joey Arnone of Under the Radar criticized the disorganization of the release, describing it as "a patchwork of ideas than anything, resembling a puzzle with all of its pieces scattered", while praising the emotional depth of tracks like "Top Picks for You".