Thompson Square had previously recorded for Broken Bow Records' Stoney Creek imprint, but left the label in 2017 after the underperformance of "Trans Am" and "You Make It Look So Good", singles intended for a third Stoney Creek album.[4][5] Following their departure from the label, the two began composing songs for the album, including the title track, which group member Kiefer Thompson wrote about their son Rigney.[6][7] Both members of the duo produced the album with Dann Huff, Nathan Chapman, and Ilya Toshinsky.[8]
Lyrically "Up In Smoke" tells the story of how Kiefer and Shawna Thompson got together. Billboard wrote that "And on the other end of the emotional spectrum, there’s “Breakers,” which closes the disc. It’s perhaps the most passionate and emotional that Shawna Thompson has ever sounded. Her spouse says that’s for good reason."[9] "Breakers" was written about a family member that Shawna Thompson had to cut out of her life.[9] The song was pieced together, because Shawna was crying during the recording process.[9]
Sounds Like Nashville writer Annie Reuter praised the variety of instrumentation and lyrical strength of the album, concluding that "their entire album spans a multitude of emotions and genres that keeps the listener intrigued."[10]