The title was taken from a line from "The Inner Light", a song by George Harrison, which in turn derived the phrase from verse 47 of the Tao Te Ching, a Chinese classic text.

[1] Noting that "psychedelia has begun to creep into the mainstream," Spin hailed lead singer Michael Quercio's "superb vocals" and "Mike Mariano's churchy keyboards," adding, "This group is definitely into making pure pop.

"[2] Reviewing a Chicago appearance on the band's tour for the album, Billboard acclaimed Michael Quercio as "an able craftsman of the pop hook," citing the band's "genially hallucinogenic ditties" and "a solid pop approach [that] keeps it from being classified solely as a "paisley underground" artifact.

Arrive Without Travelling was later critically acclaimed as one of the "Top 200 power pop albums of all time," crediting Michael Quercio for "some of his sweetest melodies here, including the jaunty 'Half the Way There,' 'Another World' and the Scott Miller co-write 'The Girl with the Guitar (Says Oh Yeah).

Miller's version of the song, titled "Girl w/ a Guitar," appears as a bonus track on the 2014 CD reissue of Game Theory's 1985 album Real Nighttime.