The band recorded the album in a converted farmhouse barn in
Cheshire, England over the course of 2006 through early 2009. Producer
John Leckie, who has worked with
Radiohead,
The Stone Roses, and
The Fall among others, was set to co-produce the entire album with the band, but was unable due to previous commitments. Instead, Leckie produced two tracks from the album—"
Winter Hill" and "10:03" (as well as the B-side "Push Me On")—and the band worked with
Dan Austin on the remaining nine songs.
Tom Rowlands of the electronic music duo
The Chemical Brothers also provided the song arrangement for "10:03". The album was borne out of a strained writing and recording process. Between previous album
Some Cities and
Kingdom of Rust, vocalist/bassist Jimi Goodwin lost both of his parents, guitarist/vocalist Jez Williams split up from a girlfriend after seven years together, and all three band members suffered
writer's block. "You'd think, 'Great, the amount of material I'll get from this' – but it went the opposite way. I couldn't concentrate on anything," Jez said in an interview with Simon Hattenstone of
The Guardian. In the same interview, the band admitted that
Kingdom of Rust became something of an "albatross" to finish, with the trio having been "obsessed over the idea that they were just repeating themselves": "If it sounds familiar, get rid [of it]," said Jez. "That was the golden rule." ==Release==