Between the early periods of both February and April 2006, the Starting Line went on a headlining US "Screaming Is for Babies" tour. In an interview during the tour, the guitarist Matt Watts said Schmutz was still a touring member and was expected to appear on their next album. Following the tour's conclusion, the band took a one-to-two month break for writing the album. In June and July 2006, the Starting Line wrote new material and recorded demos of songs. By August of the year, they had written and demo-recorded 12 songs, and were planning to write around 10 more before recording them. In October and November, the band supported the All-American Rejects on their "Tournado 2006" tour in the US.