The title's echo of a particularly trippy Beatles song recalls lead songwriter Matt Wilson's preoccupation with the British Invasion band: Trouser Press called Across the Universe a "too-rare example of an indie act benefiting musically from major-label treatment"—citing an "increased rock edge that doesn't detract from the gentle charm" of tracks like "Snow Days", "Gone, Gone, Gone" and "The Crane"—the latter being the closest thing the album had to a hit.

"[8] The album opens with "Turtledove", described as "a love song written, logically enough, from the point of view of a male bird.

The "new version...demonstrates how much Trip has grown; the playing is more confident and interactive than ever, with an increased rock edge," wrote Trouser Press.

[11] Calling "Snow Days" "Trip Shakespeare at its best", Newsday described it as "an eccentric blues about the kind of blizzard that shuts down school...a lovely evocation of childhood in the Minnesota winter.

"[12] "The Slacks" has been called a "tale of strange sexual discovery",[10] and "a naughty dance song about a one-eyed lady from France with a fatal weakness for magic trousers.