Heroes & Thieves - Composition

Composition

According to Carlton, the album is "the best batch of songs I've ever written". She described it as "pretty uplifting" and as having "a lot of layers ... very complex arrangements but everything just makes me feel good and not in a simplistic way." She also called it her most honest album, and the only one of hers that she considers "a body of work" as opposed to a collection of songs. "I think that shows", she said. "It really does feel like a real album." Carlton says that the concept of the album is "about personal evolution and finding joy through hardships. Every song is like a different chapter in a book". According to her, the lyrics are "far better written" and build on her greater life experience, which she says produces "a more interesting perspective through song" and lyrics more adults can listen to than previously, when she was writing from the point of view of a seventeen year-old girl rather than "more of a fully formed person".

Carlton said she was inspired by the atmosphere of her New York City loft apartment, including the view from her window, and by her thoughts during long walks around the Nolita neighborhood — "I was very inspired by the vibe here ... There really is a very deep, underlying connection between this space and my record." Another inspiration was metaphors in German fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood, the theme of which she said she adapted for the album: "The moral of that story is to never stray from the beaten path or you'll get eaten by a wolf. And, of course, in the past few years, I've really strayed from the beaten path and reaped the rewards. Instead of being eaten by the wolf, I've tamed the wolf, and it does what I say." The album was influenced by Carlton's breakup with its co-producer, Stephan Jenkins, and Carlton said that one of the reasons they remained friends was that "nothing took precedence over the music ... No matter what was going on in the emotional realm, all we cared about was the album. It created this kinetic environment that was kind of like Fleetwood Mac. It made for better music."

Carlton said the song "Nolita Fairytale" is about her life in Nolita, and in her words, "the series of revelations I have had over the past few years." She called the song "Heroes & Thieves" "a song about assessing, to put it in a dramatic way, the Heroes and Thieves in your life"; it is about her personal evolution, and her deciding how she wants to lead her life and the people with whom she wants to share it. The fourth song, "My Best", has been described by Carlton as "one of the most level-headed responses to a broken relationship no matter what crimes are committed in any relationship that fell apart, you kind of always keep your promise to that person, those people in your past. If you were to serendipitously cross paths with them again, you would always be the best version of yourself and offer them your best." The track "The One", which features Stevie Nicks, was inspired by conversations Carlton had with Nicks about relationships and the search for one true love. According to Irv Gotti, the ballad "Home" (which Carlton said she felt sad singing) was written about Stephan Jenkins, Carlton's partner at the time of its writing, although he added that "Vanessa's found home in her music, and home can be anything for people: a boyfriend, husband, child, mother ... what home can represent makes it such an enormous record. That record is very special to me." The closing track, "More Than This", documents a relationship in which Carlton felt the other party "can never have enough. It's like if they don't want peace, it would just be peaceful. The song is saying how you could experience euphoria if, in this moment, you decided you didn't need any more than this. But I don't know ... Maybe it's hard to actively make that decision."