[2] Specifically, her 2019 single "I Don't Want That Many Friends in the First Place" gained popularity in 2020 on social media platforms such as TikTok and YouTube;[1] around the same time, The Fader labelled her "hyperpop's once and future queen".

Following this, she revealed she had gone through a period of severe depression and began creating video game-influenced ambient, drum and bass, and jungle music without vocals or lyrics under the aliases Cat Mother and Trench Dog.

[1][4] In an interview with Business Insider, she stated that no longer wanted to cater to her fans and preferred to "make silly little songs" in her bedroom.

[4] Being a trans woman, she raised the pitch of her vocals on nearly every track of the album; she describes her voice as being deep, stating, "I'm sure you don't want to hear fucking Morgan Freeman sing to you about dysphoria".

[5] She sampled sound recordings she took months prior to the album's release, such as a dripping faucet, birds chirping, buzzing insects, and vehicles driving by.

Its title was inspired by the album's "chaotic mixture of harsh and soft noises"; Quinn commented, "You got a combination, a beautiful disaster".

[10] The Fader's Jordan Darville highlighted its "progressive rave composition",[9] while Sundaresan thought its sound design "reveals new layers with every listen".

[4] Noah Simon for The Line of Best Fit called the album "an eclectic smorgasbord of ideas", highlighting its mix of acoustic, experimental indie folk, lofi hip-hop reminiscent of the rapper Mike, to pop music atop 2-step drum patterns.

[7] The lyrics of Drive-By Lullabies indulge in themes of depression and suicidal ideation[9] and were written about Quinn's real-life experiences.

[4] Dazed's Günseli Yalcinkaya highlighted the album's "anxious" atmosphere, intense guitar riffs, and chaotic noise.

At points, the other person will yell back with a frightened voice; the song finishes with a sample of a physician speaking on depression.

[7] Sundaresan described it as a mixture of the soft music from JRPGs and 2021 digicore releases such as Jane Remover's Teen Week or Kurtains' Insignia's Manor.

[4] "Perfect Imperfection" also calls back to Quinn's hyperpop origin;[4][9] it incorporates a drill rhythm ahead of synthesizer noise wall.

[4] "12/25/18" presents a lo-fi freestyle over the beat of Schoolboy Q's 2012 track "Hands on the Wheel";[4][9] Sundaresan described it as "a kid's earnest take on Some Rap Songs".