Motel Black first emerged on the Boston music scene in 2016, armed with an 8-song collection of demos dubbed A Commonwealth Songbook. Upon its release, The Noise Boston labeled the band's sound as an amalgamation of alt / indie / stoner rock, adding, "The music hits hard. It’s stealthy, and wastes no time." It is this early description of the band, coupled with the demo's overarching themes, that capture what Motel Black is: a sound that blurs the lines of rock's sub-genres, with songs that tackle social issues relevant to most American cities: racism, substance abuse, gentrification, love, death, the school-to-prison pipeline, and changes in urban landscapes.

The four-piece's proper debut Culture Shock EP was released in April 2018. A more raucous set of material than its predecessor, it was with Culture Shock EP that Motel Black's local profile rose, earning them numerous New England live festival slots in 2019 while also landing them opening slots for national acts. Boston indie label Green Line Records issued "Master of Reality Revisited" in July 2019.

It was amidst a heavy live schedule in 2019 that Motel Black's new record slowly took shape in scattered sessions around Boston. This cycle, a record split up and presented as a single series, pushes the band’s hook-laden rock sound into more atmospheric, noisier territory. First single “Evening Standard” serves as a sonic bridge between where Motel Black came from and where the singles that follow it are heading.