Following his time in Topanga Canyon, McMahon began working with producer Mike Viola in his Echo Park garage studio. McMahon took what he enjoyed while making the EP, namely the concept of going into a studio and working on something in a timely manner and applied it to the album's sessions. In December 2013, McMahon and Viola came up with a demo of "High Dive". It featured a piano, programmed drums and guitar; after muting the guitar track, the pair were surprised at the clarity of the piano against the rest of the recording. They realized they could work around the production without needing to have too many layers to focus on. This subsequently became the production template for the rest of the album. A friend of McMahon's liked the work of songwriter James Flannigan and suggested that McMahon work with him. The two of them with Flannigan's writing partner, Anders Grahn, collaborated on songs in Hollywood.
