After recording his first two solo albums with Norfolk & Western's Adam Setzer (Robley is also a sometimes-member of Norfolk & Western), he opted to get some fresh ears involved for "Movie Theatre Haiku," tracking at Mike Coykendall's Blue Room (M. Ward, Bright Eyes, Beth Orton) and Rob Stroup's 8 Ball Studios. Mixing and additional production was provided by Portland audio guru Jeff Stuart Saltzman (Stephen Malkmus, Sleater-Kinney, Dolorean).

"I'm excited about the songs on this record because they're all kind of neo-formalist pop tunes that are accessible, but I hope they're also able to provoke a little nervous anxiety in the listener because of the dense arrangements and the frequent key changes," comments Robley. "I find that working within the limitations of the pop song format is a more rewarding challenge. I tried to make sure all the experimental bits and strange sounds serviced the song first."