The band began working on tracks for their fourth album in late 2012, with recording sessions at Mogwai's Castle of Doom Studios in Glasgow beginning in January 2014. On 12 August 2014, the band announced via their official website, Facebook, and Instagram pages that the new album, entitled "Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave", would be released on 27 October 2014. The announcement was accompanied by a 1-minute teaser video trailer on the band's website, followed by a posting of the album's opening track "There's a Girl in the Corner" on "Vice" magazine's "Noisey" blog on 18 August 2014. In an interview with Contactmusic.com, guitarist/producer Andy MacFarlane explained that with "Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave", the band aimed to capture all the different forms their music has taken over the years, from "full on noise/feedback, to a sparse, synth led sound, to a stripped back set up with just keys, drum machine and guitar, to playing with an orchestra, and to just an acoustic with vocal." The album produced three singles; the first single, "Last January", was released as a digital download on 15 September 2014; second single "I Could Give You All That You Don't Want" was released as a double A-side 7" vinyl single with the exclusive track "The Airport" on 9 February 2015; and third single "It Never Was the Same" was released on 29 June 2015 as a 7" vinyl single, featuring the exclusive version of "There's a Girl in the Corner" as covered by Robert Smith of The Cure. Additionally, a limited edition 6-song EP entitled "Òran Mór Session", featuring stripped-down versions of songs from "Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave", was self-released by the band in October 2014, then expanded to 9 songs and given a wider release by Fat Cat Records in October 2015.