On the first recording sessions of the band's fourth studio album, frontman Tom Smith stated that it had been "a long, hard couple of years and it got pretty dark because whenever we tried creating new songs it wasn’t good enough. Chris's heart wasn’t in it any more. For a year, we'd leave rehearsals feeling very negative and uninspired." However, in April 2012, the band stated on their official site that they were "super excited about working with the core of the band as a three-piece and trying to introduce new elements to Editors sound." In December of the same year, the band revealed on a
Daily Star interview that they were ready to begin recording their fourth album after the departure of Chris Urbanowicz. Lead singer Tom Smith also said that "I've talked for a long time about my love of American bands like
R.E.M. and
Arcade Fire, and that's the type of sound our new songs are going towards. They're more straightforward than our last album. That was more experimental, whereas the new songs could be played on an acoustic guitar. I don't know what a hit is any more, but these songs feel very classic and immediate." The album was produced by Jacquire King and mixed by Craig Silvey. The band also worked with producer
Flood, who had produced their previous album,
In This Light and on This Evening. The album was mostly recorded live. Regarding the sound of the album, lead singer Tom Smith stated that it "[has] a foot in that
alt rock/
Americana world" and that it feels "untouchable at times". Lyrically, the album focuses on "love songs... that don't adhere to the traditional love song type". Smith explained, "If I ever find myself writing something too straightforward, I try to twist it, so it ends up odd and baffling." ==Promotion and release==