demarco recorded "salad days" in his apartment, in the bedford–stuyvesant area of brooklyn, new york, following an extensive tour in support of his debut releases, "rock and roll night club" and "2", both of which were released in 2012. demarco noted that he felt "fuckin' bummed out", upon the tour's completion, stating: "i feel sort of weathered and beat down and grown up all of a sudden. i've always had some kind of plateau that i wanted to reach, and now i just can't see the next one."