Unlike the band's other genre-mixing releases, the music on Absinthe is consistently in an ambient and noise style.

The titles of many of its tracks refer to the works of Paul Verlaine, Charles Baudelaire and other figures in the fin de siècle Decadent movement, and to the drink after which the album is named.

From the official description on the now defunct Avant website: "Joey Baron plays bags of dry leaves, fishing reels and buckshot.

The Allmusic review by Caleb Deupree states "Naked City's final album is by far its most puzzling and enigmatic...

Nothing in Naked City's previous oeuvre prepares the listener for this collection, a complete reversal from the hardcore and thrash metal, but looking forward to Zorn's interest in minimalist pieces like Redbird and Duras.