Featuring a stripped-back musical arrangement, the instrumentation on This Is The Story consisted exclusively of hand percussion, acoustic guitar and vocals.

After that tour afforded them the opportunity, The Proclaimers performed the songs "Throw the 'R' Away" and "Letter from America" on Channel 4 music program The Tube.

[7] "Letter from America" compared the Highland Clearances of the 18th and 19th centuries to industrial decline in 1980s Scotland during the Premiership of Margaret Thatcher.

Los Angeles Times described the album's first single, "Throw the 'R' Away", as a celebration of the Scottish accents in which the duo sing and which many critics saw as a potential barrier to commercial success.

[12] This Is the Story had a notable impact on Canadian alternative rock band Barenaked Ladies, with former member Steven Page calling the album "perfect for us", elaborating that "it was exactly what we were; two guys with acoustic guitars, singing in harmony.