Musically, the sound of "1977" has been described as Britpop, garage rock, and grunge, with elements of power pop and glam rock, drawing comparisons to the Buzzcocks, Dinosaur Jr., and Sonic Youth. Wheeler attributed the range of styles to the band's American label, Reprise Records, having sent him several CDs from their back catalogue. The album's title refers to the release year of "Star Wars" (1977), the year punk rock went mainstream, and the year Wheeler and Hamilton were born. They had spent two months coming up with random titles, until Morris asked what it was going to be called, and the band replied "1977". Wheeler wrote all of the tracks, except for "Lose Control" (which he co-written with Hamilton) and "Angel Interceptor" (co-written with McMurray). Nick Ingman, Morris and Wheeler came up with string arrangements. The album features a sample of a TIE fighter from "Star Wars"; Wheeler was unsure if the band got permission for it, but theorised the label was fine with it as they were owned by 20th Century Fox which had made "Star Wars".