The hovering ladder in the sky feels like a kind of metaphor for the emotional survival that everyone is particpating [sic] in... we're always evolving, adapting, letting go of one thing and reaching for the next.

Sometimes we look down... and sometimes we look up <3" In 2017, Polachek began working frequently with PC Music producers Danny L Harle and A. G. Cook after the dissolution of her band Chairlift.

She appeared on Harle's single "Ashes of Love" back in 2016, and she also began collaborating with him and Cook in contributions with other artists, such as Superfruit and Charli XCX.

"[8] Throughout the duration of 2018, Polachek shared a number of images of her in the studio to record material and hinted at the possibility of working on an album in their captions.

In an interview with Vogue, Polachek expressed her surprise that her label was happy to lead with "Door" as the first single, explaining "it's such a long and winding song.

Of the song "Parachute", Polachek said in a press release, "It was an incredible moment, realizing that this melody we'd written was unintentionally re-telling a dream I'd been shaken by.

[20][21][22] Its sound is described as "almost symphonic" and "blend[s] acoustic and synthetic textures into a surrealist yet affecting listen" [7][20] The album exists in a space in between moody electronica and upbeat pop.

As Mark Moody of No Ripcord put it, "best listened to sad and lonely in your bedroom, Pang is the perfect dance album for smart and sensitive boys and girls after their day's journaling are done.

[24] "New Normal" shifts between different keys and features "a conspicuously yeehaw opening of slide guitar to an almost dancehall beat to sputtering percussion and vocal clips from hip-hop".

[22] The album explores lyrical themes of "living unexpected dreams, getting away with something sneaky-fun, tears in public and in oceans"[20] and "love songs about the moment of surrender, the pain preceding it, and the euphoria after.

"[20] Ben Thomas of The Guardian praised the album's lyrics about break-ups, saying that "Caroline Shut Up" in particular "lets you right inside her lustful waltz-time neuroses.

"[22] Tiny Mix Tapes's Reggie MT referred to the album "an absolute triumph of 'expressionist storybook goth' that recalls the great emotive artists in pop and New Age history, from Elizabeth Fraser to Imogen Heap, Enya to her (our) girl Charli [XCX]".

[62] To celebrate the album's one year anniversary on October 19, 2020, Polachek released a ten minute long extended mix of "The Gate", featuring a visualizer by Ezra Miller.

"[63] On December 9, 2020, Polachek released remixes of "Ocean of Tears", "Hey Big Eyes", "Hit Me Where It Hurts", and "Door" as digital singles.