"A lot of my albums have been done off the cuff," Cardiff explains. For this album, he took the time and made accepting challenges part of the process and made sure he would not have any regrets after the process. "Floods & Fires" is considered an ambitious album, as it features a horn section, bowed strings, electronic instrument programming and guest performers, including a high school choir. Cardiff has explained that the title ("Floods & Fires") alludes to Biblical plagues which bring both destruction and opportunity. The album's 14 tracks examine "love and love's leaving, celebrate parenthood and... explore the balance between heartbreak and joy." Cardiff says the songs were "...crafted during a difficult period of my life," says Cardiff. "When hard things happened, I kept reminding myself to choose joy instead of choosing to be afraid and closing up. That's what I kept coming back to – fear rents the cheapest room in the house. I didn't want to live like that anymore."