The Format talked with The Washington Post:
Even though the songs were piling up, Ruess wasn’t sure if he wanted to release any of them. He called up his old partner Means for a gut check, and they spent a few days hanging out in Santa Barbara, listening to his demos, adding a bridge when a song needed it. “I didn’t know what it was, but I was just happy to be there,” Means says.
At first, Means thought he was helping out on a Nate Ruess solo record. But they eventuallydecided it was a Format album, and Ruess called in prolificalt-rock producer Brendan O’Brien.
It was going to be a rock album, full stop. No pianos. Roaring electric guitars. In the same vein as the albums O’Brien produced for Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen. O’Brien wasn’t entirely convinced, but he loved the demos. “I actually told him you cannot help but write pop songs,” O’Brien says. “This is what you do. You understand that, right?”