In 2019, City & Colour lost a dear friend, producer and engineer Karl "Horse" Bareham. Then the pandemic hit, and the bandmates were forced to grieve separately. The Love Still Held Me Near is the album that came out of that grief. "I kind of just dove headfirst into this idea that I could help myself by making something beautiful out of pain," said Dallas Green, before performing on the album's April 2023 release day at Vancouver's HippoSonic Studios. "All you really can do is move forward."
