On February 21, 2020,
Allie X released her second studio album,
Cape God and intended to embark on a concert tour to promote it. After the
COVID-19 lockdowns forced her to postpone the concerts, she began working on the album in the summer of the same year. Allie X first announced the album in
Rolling Stone on November 16, 2023, describing it as "aggressive, indulgent and bold." On the creation of the album the singer said, "I'm not going to be trying to please anyone else, because there's literally no one else in this room. I may have created something that's completely off-trend here, but it's definitely something that I enjoy." The album's title, cover, and music videos allude to an overarching theme of identity, with Allie X saying "I feel like there was a sort of death that happened, like an erasure of maybe previous identities, and rather than emerging with a fully-formed new identity, I feel like I'm still in progress, I'm figuring it out. I like the idea that masks are flexible in that way. They're a protection. I'm starting to think that maybe that's the way that I want to go through life." The album features a
synthesizer-heavy
retro pop sound inspired by the
1980s and late
1970s, with comparisons drawn to
Depeche Mode,
Joy Division,
Cocteau Twins,
Blondie,
Vince Clarke,
Kate Bush,
Madonna,
Kraftwerk,
A-ha,
the Human League,
the B-52s, and
Talking Heads.
Synth-pop features prominently on songs like "Weird World", "Truly Dreams", "John and Jonathan", while "Hardware Software" and "Truly Dreams" explore
new wave and
disco, respectively. ==Critical reception==