Both albums explored a variety of genres fused with the bands Celtic fusion sound, including funk, jazz, electronica and world.

[2] For What Men Deserve to Lose, the band took inspiration "from their surroundings in Skye, people they had met and places they visited over the couple of years" prior to making the album.

"[3] It is comparable to dance music due to its driving rhythms,[4] whilst the band's brass section, the Wayward Boys, are given more prominence than on Croftwork.

[4] The variety in the album's usage of keyboards was noted by critics, as was its jazz-influenced percussion; one reviewer observed "some brilliantly worked introductions" and multiple instances of "lead instruments changing within tracks.

The title itself refers to the band's driver, a man of Italian descent made up a fictitious Scottish friend named Crazy Joe.

[2] "Ramsaig" is named after a picturesque site of a cleared village near Dunvegan where Morrison's grandparents lived as shepherds, whilst the title of album closer "Nyup" is described in the liner notes as "a fun word to pepper your conversation with.

Simon Jones of fRoots gave a positive review of the album, saying "there can be no one direct approach taken to describe the constantly evolving music of the Peatbog Faeries, its very nature is polyglot and that disparate collection of philosophies makes them the perfect band for 2007.

If anything, What Men Deserve to Lose (a quote from writer Derek Cooper) moves out further into the big, blue beyond, still latching on to island roots yet in a mood of glorious experiment".

[7] Chris Nickson of Allmusic was also positive, saying, after noting the many instruments used on the album, "the result is that they combine ancient and modern in very effective proportions, and aren't afraid of heavy touches of electricity, like Tom Salter's raucous guitar work on "The Invergarry Blues."