Returning to Montreal in 2001 after the disbandment of The Smashing Pumpkins, Auf der Maur was unsure about whether or not to continue her music career. In an interview with "Jam!", she said that her "relationship to music had become very army-oriented. I was a soldier, a hard worker who never got enough satisfaction from the music. I didn't know if I was going to make my own record". In late 2001, upon discovering old demo recordings in her home, Auf der Maur decided to pursue a solo career after she had "realized had an entire album's worth of material that had been sitting there for years".