Both sides of the album begin with three shorter, hook-driven songs, which "Stylus Magazine"s Evan Chakroff said veer between progressive rock and post-punk styles. The title track and "Torn Curtain" are longer and more jam-oriented. "As peculiar as it sounds, I've always thought that we were a pop band", Verlaine later told "Select". "You know, I always thought "Marquee Moon" was a bunch of cool singles. And then I'd realise, Christ, title track is ten minutes long. With two guitar solos." According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the album is " of tense garage rockers that spiral into heady intellectual territory, which is achieved through the group's long, interweaving instrumental sections".