[5][6] Progress on the album was very rapid, with the band recording many of the songs virtually live in the studio, although horns, woodwind instruments, and a nine-piece orchestra were overdubbed onto the tracks after completion of the initial sessions.

[5] The album is highlighted by the vaguely sinister ambiance of the band's music and by the oddly striking harmonies that resulted from the juxtoposition of guitarist and ex-folk singer George Edwards' folk-influenced singing and keyboardist Dave Michaels' classically trained, operatic phrasing.

[3][4] The ten songs included on H. P. Lovecraft exhibit a wide range of styles, encompassing elements of jazz on "That's How Much I Love You, Baby (More or Less)",[3] folk music on "Wayfaring Stranger",[7] Gregorian chant on "Gloria Patria",[5] vaudeville psychedelia on "The Time Machine",[2] and contemporary singer-songwriter material on "The Drifter", "Let's Get Together", "That's The Bag I'm In", and "Country Boy & Bleeker Street".

[2][4] In addition, the laid-back, druggy ambiance of the cover of Randy Newman's "I've Been Wrong Before" serves to give an indication of the musical direction that the band would follow on their second album, H. P. Lovecraft II.

[3] Written by Edwards, Michaels, and the band's lead guitarist Tony Cavallari, the six-and-a-half-minute opus made use of baroque-style harpsichord, droning feedback, somber harmonies, and the chiming of an 1811 ship's bell.