"Fiction", Sim's emotive lyrics recount romantic illusions such as "last night the world was beneath us", but eventually lead to a catharsis. "Try" has oscillating guitar lines, sluggish snare drums, and looped synthesizers. Smith experimented with unconventional electronic elements when producing the song. John Calvert of Fact asserts that it is a stark "conflation of urban and indie music", noting its "portomento synths and rumble-bass (think 'Drop It Like It's Hot') passing under tremolo guitar." On "Try", the narrators attempt to evoke feelings of hope and functionality to each other. "Reunion" is a noirish ballad that features reactive emotions by the narrators. Smith approached its recording as he would remixing a song, working with a demo of bass, guitar, and vocal parts at his own studio and incorporating house and techno elements. Midway, "Reunion" develops a refrain of "did I ... see you ... see me ... in a new light?", and pulsating steel drums lead to a somber, rhythmic dance section. Its pulsating beat transitions into "Sunset", a song about the pain shared by estranged ex-lovers. The song's muted beat adds tension to the narrative, which Calvert interprets to be "the couple's final farewell – the beat serves to denote the passing of time." "Sunset" also has a subtle UK garage beat, funky house elements, and was inspired by the music from Smith's DJing gigs; Croft cited it as "an example of the idea of a kind of song we're all really into, which is heartbreaking dance music". Consequence of Sound's Harley Brown views that "Reunion" and "Sunset" make up a congruous mix at "the heart of the album", as Smith "indie-streams these house varieties ... slowing down and alienating beats from their context so they're even more universal, unobscured by their dance floor origins." "Missing" features a melancholic mood and experiments with echoing vocal effects. The song's lyrics express inner turmoil and deal with themes of separation and isolation. Sim sings lead over Croft's echoed background wails, and vice versa, amid solemn keyboard flourishes. Sim originally wrote the song on the band's tour bus near the end of their tour, but underwent several changes before being one of the last songs recorded for the album. "Tides" opens solely with Croft and Sim's vocals, and features fading musical elements, including lock-step percussion, minor strings, an isolated guitar line, and a wavy bassline. Croft and Sim trade lines expressing resignation