The character of Joe, Toledo explains, was an homage to Daniel Johnston, who used the name in several songs "as a sort of joke, a stand-in for himself." He goes on, "I started thinking-who is Joe? And how do the songs, in the way they're sequenced on the album, reflect what he's going through? As I started asking this question, a story emerged with startling wholeness and clarity, like finding the foundations of an ancient city while digging in my backyard."