"co-writing with other people changed everything for me," degraw said. "not only did it open my mind to new ideas, but it changed the way i wrote on my own. playing all these different styles with other musicians led me to think about things differently when i was working by myself. i was able to tap into things i do live, dabbling with some of that late 1960s, early 1970s r&b stuff; i was able to record all the styles of music that i like and put them on one album. it was great to take my leash off and experiment. although it doesn't stray too far from what i've done, i think it's the first album i've made that has caught my true sound."