The group also includes musicians frequently used in Field Music's album sessions, such as Emma Fisk and Peter Richardson on strings.

The album's lyrics were inspired by "Paul Auster's labyrinthine storytelling",[2] based around "an imagined crime thriller".

Though there is little evidence to suggest a narrative in the finished product, the songs are intended to be seen as musical snapshots from within this frame, moments taken from the perspectives of onlookers, perpetrators and victims.

The album was written in a single week, after Brewis was inspired having just thrown out his TV and wondering how people would react without modern information technology keeping them updated on the news, etc.

It has also been suggested[3] that the last song, Scratch The Surface, may be from the point of view of the kidnapper if this is the case, hence the lyric “Don’t you read the paper?