[4][5] Work on the album started in early 2022, with Mayberry citing Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, Annie Lennox, Jenny Lewis, Sinéad O'Connor as influences.

[6][3] Mayberry co-wrote every song on the album, along with its producers Dan McDougall, Matthew Koma, Ethan Gruska, and Greg Kurstin; additional songwriters include Tobias Jesso Jr., Caroline Pennell, and Griffin Goldsmith.

[9] Mayberry expressed feeling afraid that her band would not stay together, and was also worried that she had no other creative outlet, as bandmates Iain Cook and Martin Doherty were both working with other artists.

[10] "Something in the Air" is a pop rock track that arose after a studio discussion about conspiracy theories; it was the penultimate song written for the album and has a similar sound to All Saints and Alanis Morissette.

[5][15][16][9] "Crocodile Tears", which was inspired by the musical theatre characters of Velma Kelly (of Chicago) and Sally Bowles (of Cabaret), samples the strings from "Walking on Broken Glass" by Annie Lennox.

[5] "Sorry, Etc", a blend of garage rock and drum and bass, and the pop "Change Shapes" are both songs that discuss sexism in the music industry; the latter was released as a single to coincide with International Women's Day.

[3][10] "Sunday Best", inspired by Talking Heads and "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" by Baz Luhrmann, is a song describing an existential crisis over worrying about the death of one's parents.