After returning from an Australian tour playing guitar and drums in Angel Olsen's band, Lionlimb began recording Shoo in 2015 with Robin Eaton. The resulting sessions proved to be a departure from the duo's previous recordings with a shift toward jazz, rock and soul with the addition of saxophone and Fender rhodes. The album's influences can be traced back to Miles Davis' 'On the Corner', Jack London, Schumann, Elliott Smith, and Jackson Pollock.