The ten tracks that are featured on How Did We Get So Dark? were written in instrumental form during sessions in Brighton, Los Angeles and Nashville. Always trying to explore ways of stripping their enormous sound back to give it more space and impact, inspiration for the lyrics came from events in vocalist/bassist Mike Kerr's life since the band first found huge success. While the album finds Royal Blood refining their melodic might, there are other moments that fulfil their aim to create songs that will add new dimensions to their live sets. Adorned with Kerr's falsetto, 'Don't Tell' drops the intensity to mesmerizing effect, while 'Where Are You Now?' pulsates with a bounding energy that's quite a step apart from anything else in their catalogue. The Royal Blood palette is also expanded with the inclusion of harmony vocals - something that they didn't use on their debut.