[4] The title of the album was inspired by a conversation between Casablancas and the band's bassist and synth player, Jake Bercovici, where the latter said: "Soon we’ll all be crusted and dusted like all before us.”[5] The album was recorded at the band's home studio in Venice, California, as well as at Vox Studios in Los Angeles.

[9][10] With this announcement, the band also quietly put out the instrumental single "Overture" on digital platforms.

[18] The band faced backlash with their use of AI artwork for the album's cover art, which was revealed via a post on Casablancas's Instagram page in July of 2024.

Later, under the post itself, the singer issued a statement defending the choice, which included the following excerpts:[19] "We [definitely] didn't go out of our way to use AI art.

"All tracks are written by Alex Carapetis, Amir Yaghmai, Jake Bercovici, Jeff Kite, Jeramy "Beardo" Gritter, and Julian Casablancas.