[8] Its lyrics address the legacy of U.S. colonialism,[9][10] and the band donated the profits from album sales to The Red Nation, a Native American advocacy group.
[11][12] In 2021, Straw Man Army recorded a soundtrack for Her Majesty's Ship, an experimental 2019 film based on Charles Darwin's 1839 memoir The Voyage of the Beagle.
[21][22] Straw Man Army has stated that Age of Exile, SOS, and Earthworks are intended as a trilogy focused on the past, present, and future, respectively.
[23][24] Straw Man Army is known for its DIY ethic,[25][26] its politically charged lyrics,[3][27] and its experimental use of ambient sound.
[24] Critics have compared the band to Wire,[1][18] the Ex,[25][22] Zounds,[29][32][33] This Heat,[20][23] and Crass,[9][22] while also noting its "sparse, driven" sound[25] that resists easy categorization.