 Like the three albums often referred to as "a trilogy" accounting for the majority of the band's mainstream production over the past 15 years (consisting of "The Soft Bulletin", "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots", and "At War With the Mystics"), "The Terror" adheres to the love story/space opera narrative structure while taking a much darker approach.As noted in a review by Pitchfork, ""The Terror" deals in more personal turmoil– loneliness, depression, anxiety... Perhaps not coincidentally, the album was preceded by news of Coyne's separation from his partner of 25 years, Michelle, and of multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd relapsing temporarily.