John Nolan said that the change in sound between "Tell All Your Friends" and "Straylight Run" might appear to be drastic for fans of Taking Back Sunday, when in reality the change showcased several years of writing development. The songs featured on "Tell All Your Friends" were a few years old by the time the album came out, which meant there was a long period between the writing of the songs and the ones that would appear on "Straylight Run". Nolan said that during this time, he grew as a songwriter. The final batch of songs written for the album shed the remaining remnants of Taking Back Sunday's sound.