This began with an ambient cover of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight," then followed by "Mystical World," the Choir’s first original composition with the remaining threesome of lead singer and guitarist Derri Daugherty, drummer and lyricist Steve Hindalong and saxophone and Lyricon player Dan Michaels.

[2][3] Stephen Mason, known primarily for his work with Jars of Clay, stepped in as bass guitarist on that track—which would later be remixed and included on Deep Cuts—as well as on "Eyes on Fire," which was also originally recorded at that time.

"[5] The final digital single to be made widely available, "The Real WWW," was released in honor of Chandler's passing, as it was the last Choir recording to feature his musical contributions.

[6] In February 2020, the band announced a single Kickstarter campaign for Deep Cuts that included a vinyl option,[7] unlike the two separate crowdfunding efforts for the Choir's previous album Bloodshot.

"[10] The March 2020 lockdown of the United States due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic put an immediate end to those tour plans, so the band focused their efforts solely on the new album.

[4] As a part of the "Greenville College group" that included Jars of Clay and Paper Route, Leiweke also brought with him two singer-songwriter friends to contribute background vocals: Jonathan Noël and Mason Zgoda.

[4][14] Session musician Chris Donohue, a frequent collaborator with Phil Madeira and whom Hindalong described as "the best bass player we know,"[15] served as Chandler's replacement for the majority of the album, and in some cases, attempted to mimic his style.

"[12] Prickett, who is based in California, happened to be visiting his daughter in Nashville at the time the Choir needed him, so he was able to provide all his contributions in a single day of recording.

[14] "Trouble" itself was an unusual song for the Choir, as it was originally conceived as a demo track to pitch to the TV series Yellowstone, and written from the perspective of the Beth Dutton character, portrayed by Kelly Reilly.

"Kindred Spirits" originally had a "Tom Petty vibe," but the rest of the band was dissatisfied with the results, so Hindalong kept revising the lyrics and Daugherty came up with a different melody.

[21] "Sunshine Girl" was written as a slow ballad, but Daugherty recommended that the tempo be increased significantly; when it was, he was satisfied that it "sounded like a Choir song.

[26] He also mixed "Trouble" to feature the horns "off in the back corner" as one would normally hear them live, versus "spread out," as can be the case with a studio recording.

[14] Similar to the use of Hindalong’s motorcycle and his daughter Emily's giggle on Circle Slide,[27] the Choir layered in sound effects on Deep Cuts that also had a personal connection to the band.

The song was recorded and completed, but the rest of the band felt the result was overly sentimental, and they asked him to rewrite the lyrics, something he claimed he almost never does.

[29] Hindalong "tried to make it as dark and create as much tension as I could" by directly referencing the loss of bassist Chandler within a rumination about mortality and death,[29] topics that the following track, "Reckless Ways" also addressed.

In March 2021, after the recording of Deep Cuts was completed, the Choir announced a new Patreon effort, where the band would reward supporters with one new song per month, along with behind-the-scenes content.

One of the Kickstarter campaign’s stretch goals was a spoken word release, on which Hindalong would recite lyrics of ten Choir songs from the band's past repertoire over newly-recorded ambient music beds.

Although the band did not reach the $50,000 level necessary to trigger that particular stretch goal before the campaign ended, the Choir opted to finish the album anyway, releasing it digitally to Kickstarter supporters in March 2023.

Entitled Words Spoken and Floating on Clouds, the album was subsequently made available to purchase as a digital download by non-Kickstarter supporters.

Dan McIntosh from CCM Magazine called the album "a positive emotional space," saying that the Choir has been "a good friend to many of us, and we’re so thankful it continues to keep this musical conversation going.

"[33] John Underdown at Jesus Freak Hideout also thought that Deep Cuts featured "a newer, brighter message [...] focused on pushing for better times and reconciliation."

However, he saw this as a weakness compared to the band's previous work: "Deep Cuts is more laid back and simply exists because these guys love making music together.

He praised the band for "setting terse, faith-based wisdom to the echoey, chiming hooks for which they’ve become beloved," naming "Aces Over Eights" as a particular high point, but compared the Choir's romantic songs unfavorably to America, saying that the latter band was "better than Daugherty and Hindalong at making […] love songs open-ended enough for outsiders to imagine them as their own.

"[34] The strongest review came from Brian Q. Newcomb at The Fire Note, calling Deep Cuts "an altogether more up-tempo effort that rocks with intentionality and purpose," and saying that the song "'The Woods,' with an aggressive guitar attack and a gripping sax solo, is a welcome return to an intensity reminiscent of the band’s great, underrated ’93 release, Kissers and Killers.”[36] All tracks written by Derri Daugherty and Steve Hindalong except where noted.