The song's lyrics discuss having optimism amidst a poor state of mental health, instrumentally backed by upbeat pop music with hip hop influence.

A music video for "Way Less Sad" was released alongside the song, featuring the band performing in various New York City locations.

The single was a commercial success, with numerous radio adds helping it chart in three countries and amass hundreds of millions of streams on Spotify.

[7] In 2012, AJR created an upbeat disco song, sampling the final trumpet riff of Simon & Garfunkel's "My Little Town" as its primary hook.

[11] The chorus enters with a brass sample of "My Little Town", 808 bass, drums, and vocalization from lead singer Jack Met.

The instrumentation tones down at the beginning of each verse, lyrically describing failed attempts at happiness and the lowering of standards to accept this.

[1] During shows performed for The Maybe Man Tour in 2024, band member Ryan Met showcased the song's layers in a How We Made segment.

[14] The band used a slowed-down kick, sped-up hi-hat, and flammed plate clattering as a clap to create a half-time trap beat.

The band adapted the trumpet melody for the song's verses from Ryan telling Jack "would you put your phone down" in response to watching old home movies.

[17] The video cuts between several locations in New York City, with the band pushing Jack on a luggage cart at the TWA terminal at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, performing the song in front of and on Jane's Carousel in Brooklyn, standing on a beach at Coney Island, hanging Jack upside down at a table, and performing in a bedroom.

Visual effects were applied to various parts of the video, simulating the band singing underwater and editing multiple versions of Jack on an escalator into the same shot.