Fray said they wanted to hire a newcomer to do the art, instead of finding a well-known artist, eventually coming across Paul X Johnson through mutual friends. This period of time allowed him to re-listen to the songs they had up to that point, which he felt could be improved upon. Fray became aware of Joseph Cross from his production work on Happiness (2010) by Hurts, as well as Cross' own material under the moniker Performance. Fray told him about "Lose Control" and "Welcome to the Rave", by which Cross was interested based on the descriptions Fray had given him.

In December 2012, the band played another one-off show in Manchester, this time at the Manchester Arena, with support from the View, and at XFM's Winter Wonderland radio festival. The album was promoted with two tours of the UK, as well as various festival appearances, including Glastonbury, Isle of Wight and T in the Park.

Push Yourself" is reminiscent of the disco-rock direction of Two Door Cinema Club and Franz Ferdinand. The band toured the UK shortly afterwards; "Van Der Graaff" was released as the album's second single in May 2013. He explained that the material on Falcon were written as acoustic songs, whereas for the new material, he was "building [them] up and getting drum beats and bass parts down" prior to them entering a studio. At the end of the year, the band played three UK shows in their hometown of Manchester in December 2011. It peaked at number six in the UK Albums Chart; out of its three singles, "You Overdid It Doll" reached the highest at number 24 in the United Kingdom.

Anna received mixed reviews from critics, with some commenting on the production, while others thought the songs were uninspired. Jamie Carson of Clash said it was "full of uninspired and recycled riffs starkly illuminated by the God awful woe-is-me-I’m-northern lyrics". Though Anna was in the running to top the UK Albums Chart during the mid-week, it ultimately peaked at number six, losing out to the Les Misérables soundtrack.Anna is an indie pop album that expands on the use of synthesizers and incorporation of electronic sounds that were partially alluded to with Falcon. Though originally scheduled for 28 January 2013, "Lose Control" was released as the album's lead single a month early on 10 December 2012; the seven-inch vinyl record edition featured "Chipping Away" as its B-side.