The band opted to take a less-is-more approach to the song writing, with drummer Gavan Whelan adding that "there's more space and thought." "Ya Ho" and "Vulture" include elements of African music. The Kick Horns added brass to "Charlie Dance"; Richard Evens added keyboards to "Are You Ready", and Clive Mellot provided maracas for "Ya Ho". In addition to their regular roles, Whelan played piano, and guitarist Larry Gott did keyboards and flute. The opening track "What For" began as an entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, and changed several times as the band felt its first iteration was too poppy, and lacked any kind of serious statement. The song was inspired by the balance between the cars and pollution of Manchester, and the free-roaming nature of birds above the city's skyline. The horn-driven "Charlie Dance" was written after the Chernobyl disaster, and talks about being given misinformation from the government. The folk-pop "Fairground" was the result of an argument between the band in a rehearsal space. Gott and Whelan went to one side of the room, and Booth and bassist Jim Glennie went to the other. Both pairs were playing different sections, which were recorded. Upon hearing them back, Gott thought it came across as "galloping horses at a fairground." The guitarwork in "Are You Ready" recalled the sound of Lloyd Cole; its overall sound was influenced by Whelan, who wanted a more conventional rock sound. "Medieval" includes a recorder solo, and a chant of "We are sound". Booth said "Not There" featured his first lyrics in regards to addictions, tackling the band's original guitarist Paul Gilbertson, adding that he "watched a close friend's spirit being slowly drunk by the alcohol." "Ya Ho" talks about saving people from whirlpools, and the fear of failure. It began as a short story from Booth about a tribe living on a beach, before being turned into a song. Booth wrote "Riders" after having a dream where he was in a lecture with several popular musicians. "Vulture" was written five years prior about gluttony and greed, and had appeared during the band's first session with John Peel in a slightly different rendition. It is a highlife song that evokes the sound of Graceland (1986) by Paul Simon. "Stripmining" details human mortality, and was written for a benefit gig following a landside in Italy. The album's closing track, "Refrain", is an instrumental interlude that