"[5] He has also stated that his major influences include, John Prine, Bruce Springsteen, Gregory Alan Isakov, and Dire Straits.

When McPoland was younger, he planned to be a folk singer, and even asked for a banjo for Christmas, but his parents got him an electric guitar instead.

[8] The song, along with the video, helped him start his career, and subsequently, in May of the same year, he signed to Columbia Records.

Throughout August and September 2022, McPoland served as the opening act for Twenty One Pilots on their The Icy Tour.

McPoland stated that the album title references a main character in the novel Lord of the Flies, and that it was inspired by his emotions regarding his parents' divorce.