The album’s title comes from the opening track, which Gifford says functions as a preview that lets listeners know what’s to come and where they can expect to end up throughout the record – but the title also resonates with Gifford outside of music. She admits that, growing up, she always hated sunshine and summer. These ideas stemmed from a false notion that artists couldn’t be optimistic while still having something meaningful to say. As she matured, she changed her perspective: “I realized by doing that, I was really selling myself short of something, so I made a conscious effort to choose optimism,” she says. “Through that change, my perception of sunshine—be it metaphorical or literal—changed as well. Sunshine doesn’t have to be this oversaturated, bold spotlight. I wanted to capture that on the record by producing a happy and joyful album that isn’t upbeat and in your face. Instead, it’s soft, homey and organic.”

Of course, any country record is bolstered by a song about nostalgia for being seventeen, and Gifford offers two of them in the appropriately titled track “Seventeen” and “Glad You Got Away.” Other songs are more contemplative. “Overpriced,” for example, outlines having to go sling lattes in a coffee shop while still emotionally processing the loss in the aftermath of a breakup. Although hyper-specific, the lyrics still carry emotional weight, as Gifford sings, “I’ve been decomposing for six months and counting / while playing nice, my ego slowly rotting / ten feet outside my body.” These darker lyrics starkly juxtapose with the airiness of the music, creating a jarring dissonance of soothing sounds with sinister words.