The Dark & The Light is Shawn James' fourth studio album. It is his most eclectic record until now, as he said to Billboard:
One thing I will say is that the album feels like a culmination of everything I do. In the past, it was very much “This record is this style and this type of voice, and that record is the more bluesy voice, this record is the softer folk voice…” This one is a culmination of everything and showing what I can do. I do not think I would’ve been able to make it without those things, but I’ve worked with an eclectic mix of genres and experiences, and this is all of it. Not that I wasn’t ever honest before, but I always noticed that the stuff that had a therapeutic element to it was what really touched people and became my most popular stuff. Seeing that impact, I wanted to do more along those lines, baring my soul a little bit.