The Fake Fictions formed in April 2004 after Nick and Sarah moved to Chicago from Richmond, Virginia, and decided to start a new pop band. They found Ben under a rock. He told them that he knew how to play drums even though he really didn't. But they wrote a bunch of pop songs and played a bunch of shows anyways. They recorded an album and an EP in Ben's brother's apartment and their practice space. They recorded another album in a little studio. They played a bunch more shows. Some people started to like them. They drove 12 hours to play CMJ in New York and then turned around and drove back home. They were interviewed in Chicagoist and profiled in the Chicago Reader. They started to write rock songs that were still kind of pop songs. They played more shows. Their practice space burned down with most of their instruments in it. A volcano exploded in their minds. They wrote rock songs about volcanos. They ended up writing an album about volcanos.