The album was first referenced by the group in early 2010, when they mentioned in the Q&A section of their official website that they had recently visited
Los Angeles, California, to record. In a follow-up question,
Stuart Murdoch confirmed that producer
Tony Hoffer had returned to produce. The album's title was officially announced by Murdoch in a posting on the band's website on 11 August 2010, and he revealed the album cover and release dates, as well as a clip of a planned Belle and Sebastian television show, on 16 August. Two tracks from the album were played by the band during their 2010 tour: "I Didn't See It Coming", a duet featuring Sarah Martin and Stuart Murdoch on vocals, and "I'm Not Living in the Real World", which features
Stevie Jackson on lead vocals. On 16 August 2010, another track was announced, titled "I Want the World to Stop". which was also included on Jones' compilation album
...Featuring Norah Jones, released one month after
Write About Love. On 3 September 2010, the names of five new songs set to feature on the album were shown during the credits of the promotional Belle and Sebastian TV programme: "Blue Eyes of a Millionaire", "Suicide Girl", and "I Can See Your Future" (all credited to the group), as well as "The Telephone Song" and "If I Can't Help Myself" (both credited to guitarist
Stevie Jackson). Of these songs, only "I Can See Your Future" ended up on the album, though "Blue Eyes of a Millionaire" and "Suicide Girl" were included as bonus tracks on some editions. ==Release==