[1] Stylistically, Odyshape was a radical departure from the band's first album, featuring a diverse range of instruments, such as the shruti box, balophone, shehnai and kalimba,[2] which they picked up at junk shops and markets[3] or brought back from New York after their 1980 tour.

[1] The band incorporated influences from ethnic field recordings and musicians such as Ornette Coleman, and often swapped instrumental roles to freshen the arrangements.

[4] Pitchfork reviewer Nick Neyland said, "This album has little in common with anything else around at the time, other than the feeling that you're hurtling relentlessly forward into a previously unmapped musical space...

"[2] Noel Gardner of Drowned in Sound described the "new instruments" as essential to the recordings, noting that "you'd never call any of it 'prog', really, but the spirit of the commie beardos that comprised the Seventies Canterbury scene is being carried here nevertheless.

[1] All tracks composed by the Raincoats; except where indicated with: "Only Loved at Night" was covered by Softboiled Eggies for the Rough Trade Shops – Counter Culture 08 compilation (2009).