The early sessions for the John Butler Trio's sixth studio album commenced in mid-2013, following the band's largest tour of the US. For the first time in the band's lifetime, the members began with a blank songwriting slate, rather than using the initial ideas of Butler that had been introduced. Butler gathered with Luiters and Bomba at The Compound in Fremantle, Western Australia, which serves as the band's headquarters and the frontman's artistic space, and co-wrote material for the first time, deviating from the Butler-centric process of the past: "I had always brought the material." After contributing a large portion of work towards the album, Bomba eventually left the Compound space to work on his Melbourne Ska Orchestra project and was replaced by Grant Gerathy.