The album was produced by Jay Joyce and released on 23 June 2008, in Europe by Relentless Records, and on 24 March 2009, in the United States by RCA/Jive Label Group.

On the release of the band's second album, Thank You, Happy Birthday, Cage the Elephant reappeared on the Billboard 200, this time reaching number 59.

The first and second singles from the album, "Free Love" and "In One Ear", did not make significant impact on any charts.

Although it was their most successful and most popular single to date, it did not reach number one on the Alternative Songs chart like "In One Ear" and "Back Against the Wall", but it actually had more airplay on alternative rock radio stations than the other two and it was also the most played Cage the Elephant song on the radio.

The song "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" was used in the opening cutscene to the video game Borderlands.