"Cryptograms" is more "subdued and introverted" musically, according to Cox, than Deerhunter's first release "Turn It Up Faggot". Cox has shown disdain for that record in interviews, saying it "sounds like 2002—angry, post-hardcore dance punk. We were really young and angry." In contrast, Deerhunter's new album is "not the punk attitude" characteristic of "Turn It Up Faggot". While Cox does not consider "Cryptograms" a "reaction" to its predecessor, he noted in an interview with "Stylus Magazine" that the group's new record "developed out of different circumstances, altogether."