The album is Eldredge's first in three years, following his 2017 self-titled album. Before working on the album, Eldredge disassociated himself from social media. In the process of writing songs for the album, Eldredge worked with solely his guitar and a notepad. Sunday Drive was produced by Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian, who also worked on Kacey Musgraves' Golden Hour two years prior.[1] In the process of recording the album, Eldredge took Fitchuk and Tashian to his hometown of Paris, Illinois to show the two the "Midwest values" which he felt were part of his life. They then recorded the album at Shirk Studios in Chicago. "Gabrielle" is the album's lead single.[2]