At the end of 2008, LoveHateHero felt like it was time to step outside the boundaries they had created for themselves with their previous albums. They had built a solid fan base with their first two albums, Just Breathe and White Lies , and had supported the releases by touring nationally with such acts as Chiodos, Funeral for a Friend, and Scary Kids Scaring Kids. Despite all this hard work they didn't feel like they had quite hit their stride. Even after White Lies sold over 20,000 copies in the US and drew the attention of magazines like Alternative Press and Outburn, something wasn't quite right and they knew it. The band retooled their sound to write their newest album American Underwater. This is a record that focuses more on their well-developed vocal melodies and cleanly polished hooks. Nearly reinventing themselves as a whole, the group dropped a lot of the edginess from their songs, using it sparingly instead of as a crutch to rest on. For this release, "maturing as songwriters" wasn't just a cliche. "Everyone's better at what they're doing so we were able to get more creative. The album still holds true to the band's sound but adds so much more depth, while at the same time being a more care free album." Pierrick commented.