They elaborated, "I’ve tried to be an omniscient narrator, but I suppose I am in that chapter of life where it doesn’t feel truthful for me at the moment".

Quinlan had earlier released a solo album, Freshman Year, as Hop Along, Queen Ansleis, in 2005.

Quinlan felt that the recording experience opened their instrumentation palette beyond the guitar and made them a more adventurous collaborator.

The album's tracks “A Secret” and “Went To LA” were originally written in 2013 and recorded for Bark Your Head Off, Dog.

[10] The album's last song, a cover of Built to Spill's "Carry the Zero", is a favorite of Quinlan's, often played in their solo sets and soundchecks.