Produced by Atlas Genius and Frederik Thaae, Inanimate Objects is the follow-up to the band's 2013 full-length debut, When It Was Now, which was hailed by Rolling Stone as a "spritely, melodic debut album". After being discovered by the blog Neon Gold, the band was signed to Warner Bros. Records and began 18 months of non-stop touring, including two national headline tours, opening for Imagine Dragons and Silversun Pickups and playing festivals like Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, Sasquatch, Firefly and many others. They also performed on numerous television shows, including The Tonight Show With Leno, The Late Show With David Letterman, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Conan and Jimmy Kimmel Live!