Only God Was Above Us was "inspired and haunted by 20th Century New York City" and recorded in such far-flung locales as Tokyo, London, Los Angeles, and Manhattan. The album was co-produced by VW's Ezra Koenig and regular collaborator Ariel Rechtshaid, mixed by Dave Fridmann, and mastered by Emily Lazar. / The album title comes from the photo on the album cover by Steven Siegel, and other photos from his "Subway Dream" series documenting a Jersey City junkyard in the late-'80s.