"Double Allergic" contained material that had been written by Powderfinger in 1995 and 1996. Prior to its release, guitarist Darren Middleton described it as "by far the best thing we've done", an analogy that would be often made when comparing the album to its predecessor, "Parables for Wooden Ears". Middleton praised the album because the band knew how they wanted the record to sound before they began to record; he also described it as "the most concise continuation of who we are down on record".