Hiatt, a master lyricist and satirical storyteller, weaves hidden plot twists into fictional tales ranging in topics including redemption, relationships, growing older and surrendering, on his terms. The new record is musically rooted in acoustic blues, accentuated by Hiatt's soulful, gritty voice, which mirrors the gravity of his reflective lyrics. For Terms Of My Surrender, Hiatt turned to his longtime guitarist Doug Lancio (Patty Griffin, Jack Ingram) to produce. Though Hiatt initially picked up an electric guitar on day one of recording, Lancio challenged him to play acoustic instead, which set the tone and mood for the whole process. Hiatt even plays harmonica on the album, which he hasn't done in several years. They recorded most of the album off the floor as if in a live setting, which was fitting since the band in the studio was Hiatt's exceptional touring band.