[7] After releasing her debut studio album, Belladonna of Sadness, demos of The Archer would be rejected by Columbia Records.

The album was, in fact, finished in December 2018[8] but she would soon be dropped by both Columbia and her manager, believing she would never be able to play music again.

[9] She moved back to her hometown of Portland and resumed her education, but her friend Danger Mouse offered her a deal and signed her to 30th Century Records.

Her collaboration with Alex Turner caused many misconceptions about her musical direction on the public eye, but with her second album, she took full control.

[9][12] The track that gave its name to the album, The Archer, was written as a gift for her then-boyfriend, and the music video was directed by herself and artist Alexandria Saleem in 2017.