"What's It Feel Like to Be a Ghost?" is, according to Lazzara, about a "pre-pre-midlife crisis." Mascherino said that the song "charges forward," never letting "up and fully rocks the entire time." Rubano called the opening guitar riff "not quite 'Paradise City', but it's a guitar riff where when we first came up with it, we were like, 'Whoa! Rock! He thought that "Liar (It Takes One to Know One)" sounded like a modern equivalent of the Police. Lazzara called the song "110 miles-per-hour, very hard to play and totally rocking," and Mascherino considered it and "Spin" the group's fastest songs ever. "MakeDamnSure" has a phone message in the bridge; Lazzara and his girlfriend were arguing at the time, and she left him a message. Lazzara showed it to Valentine, wanting to include it in the song. According to Mascherino, "MakeDamnSure" received the greatest group effort of the album's songs. "Up Against (Blackout)", a track with a time signature of 6/8, was compared to Mascherino's former band Breaking Pangaea. The intro to "My Blue Heaven" was reminiscent of "Wounded" by Third Eye Blind; the lyrics during the chorus were taken from "Wedding Dress" by Breaking Pangaea.