Give In

Nate Eiesland, Alissa Ricci and Ryne Estwing came together in the spring of 2012 to form a new band and record new material after the dissolution of their previous band, Scattered Trees.[2] A three-week-long Scattered Trees recording session had been previously booked, so the trio decided to proceed and record in Toronto with producer Dave Newfeld.[2] The threesome decided to "dismantle" the final songs they had written for Scattered Trees and to write a fresh batch in the studio.[3] Singer Nate Eiesland described producer Newfeld as "a mad genius. His guidance was less about new sounds and more about new perspectives on how to make a record".[3] Newfeld encouraged the band to experience recording from the exploration and experimentation side, rather than being solely about performance and getting perfect takes.[4]

After working within the confines of a traditional rock band dynamic in Scattered Trees, On An On incorporated electronic elements into their songwriting for Give In.[4] They utilised "all of these really old drum machines that Dave Newfeld had" and live drummer Tony Nesbitt-Larking was brought in to record on the album.[4][5]

Keyboardist Alissa Ricci stated that the band were so excited to record an album that they didn't enter into the process with any preconceived statements or themes and themes which emerged during the writing process were "relationships, the tough things, the great things, death, pain, ambivalence and apathy".[4][6] The death of principal writer Nate Eiesland's father during the making of the final Scattered Trees record the previous year continued to affect him during the making of Give In, with his lyrics reflecting a "more of an ambivalent attitude towards death, unlike the first stage of grief".[6] "The Hunter" deals with Eiesland's "level of familiarity and understanding of death".[7] Ryne Estwing revealed that the album title Give In is "another way of saying don’t give up".[3]