The band purposely used a traditional "guitar, bass, and drum" rock sound in their music, in efforts to distance themselves from the DJs, rapped vocals, and angsty themes commonly found in nu metal and rap metal's music, which was at its peak of popularity upon the band's major label debut. The band desired to distance themselves from the shadow of their sibling's band Incubus, though critics commonly compared them regardless, especially to Incubus's 1999 album "Make Yourself" and Brandon Boyd's vocals. They did manage to avoid said band's nu metal label though, most commonly being identified as alternative rock, post-grunge, and hard rock. Music journalists noted a diversity between their songs as well, with Margo Whitman of "Billboard" described them as having "cuts that run the gamut from acoustic-type ballads to hardcore rock numbers". The band experimented with the sitar on the track "Rain", and a 22-piece orchestra in "When I Drown".