"This album was written in what was quite a transitional point in my life," Scattergood tells Billboard. "I kept packing up my things and going to different places, but I never seemed to really get anywhere. It was kind of like being on a treadmill. So that's the story of this album -- it's one big journey, really. I tried to reflect the movement in the album." The U.K. artist has always worn influences like Kate Bush and Tori Amos on her sleeve; "Polly Scattergood," which was released after the singer signed a deal with Mute at the age of 22, contains enough biting songwriting to lend some gravity to its starry-eyed dance tunes. But "Arrows" is simply a tighter project, with an almost utilitarian approach to ballads like "Miss You" as well as unpredictable synthesizer showcases like "Falling" and "Disco Damaged Kid." Very few moments are wasted on "Arrows," which is partially due to the presence of Glenn Kerrigan, who was tapped to co-write alongside Scattergood after working closely with another London singer-songwriter, Emmy the Great. "I searched for a writing partner, which is something I hadn't really done before," sayd Scattergood. "My imagination is quite wild, and I wanted somebody who could sit with me and sift through the ****."