Its expanded vocabulary includes relentless Minimalist repetition, melodic (though still jagged) guitar leads, precise gradations of clarity and distortion, violin parts that subtly link tracks together and song structures that keep taking left turns.Greg Kot describes the instrumentation as thus:[4] Greg Ahee's guitar ambushes the arrangements.

Drummer Alex Leonard complements Casey's delivery rather than overwhelming it, his touch unerring yet spacious.According to NPR, the album is "a collection of lyrically dense, deeply philosophical [...] songs that grapple with some of life's thorniest questions: What does it mean to be human?

[7] "A Private Understanding", which is "almost a worldwide proclamation about the dire state of things (with apocalyptic trumpets even)", references Elvis Presley's vision of Jesus in a desert and the Flint water crisis.

"[5] The song "My Children" deals with "legacy and what we leave behind: offspring, stone monuments, genetics [...]" and includes a reference to David Bowie.

[7] "Caitriona" references the main character of Cré na Cille by Máirtín Ó Cadhain and describes "an afterlife of comically complaining in your coffin about everything, including your stupid son, for all eternity.

[5] The closing track "Half Sister" is a "swaggering, misanthropic song in which Casey tells three (fictional) tales from different points in history all regarding the idea of 'truth'",[9] ending with the refrain "She's just trying to reach you" which also ends the opening track "A Private Understanding", hence bringing the album "full circle" with the sense that "hope isn't quite dead, but it's also no closer than when we started.

[16] In a perfect score review for The Guardian, Ben Beaumont-Thomas called the album "sensational" and praised Casey's "soapbox poetry" lyrics, noting that it "never becomes leaden or pedantic" despite tackling serious issues.

[21] "While his band has grown into a post-punk monster," wrote Ben Salmon for Paste, "Casey, too, has moved beyond his personal frets and frustrations and developed into a lyricist capable of clear and compelling commentary.

"[28] In another perfect score review, Danny Carter of Loud and Quiet noted that the cryptic nature of the Joycean lyrics "[help] the album steer clear of being a tacky "fake news" concept piece."

"[22] Tiny Mix Tapes's Sean Hannah, on the other hand, noted that "Casey is at his lyrical best when tackling philosophical questions obliquely rather than head on".

"[31] In a similarly mixed review, Paul Thomson of Pitchfork - while praising the band's ambition - took issue with some of the "scattershot" song structures and the cryptic nature of the lyrics in comparison with the band's past releases: "[B]y inching away from the Detroit-centered world-building of previous Protomartyr records, Casey's sacrificed a certain amount of the thematic consistency that's helped past records hold their center; these songs here, for better and worse, splay out all over the map.