Songfacts®:

• This title track of the second studio album by English Synthpop duo Hurts finds the anguished singer Theo Hutchcraft comparing his heartbreak to that of an apocalypse. Asked about the sound of the material, singer Theo Hutchcraft told NME: "Dirtier. Fuzzier. Wilder."
  Elaborating on the meaning behind the Exile title, Hutchcraft explained that he glimpsed it on a scrolling billboard while sitting in a bar in Osaka. The word seemed to capture a slew of familiar emotions: "[It's] that sense of being in a weird place," he said. "Freedom, fear, isolation, joy, religion, punishment, the decadence that comes with exile – always being on tour, always being far from home. It did feel like we were on the run. Always chasing something."
• Hutchcraft explained to Digital Spy how the album title became a foundation for the album. "We had the title for the record before we wrote it," he said, "so that made a huge impression on all of the songs. Everything that comes with the word exile, we thought was a great starting point of emotions to express."