Deerhunter's two recording sessions produced two halves of the album with distinct musical styles. The first half of the album is more ambient in style and includes four ambient instrumental tracks. With the song "Providence", the band aimed to create a feeling of solitude. The idea for the song came about when, while in Providence, Rhode Island during a 2005 tour, Cox had an argument with other members of the band. Having left his bandmates to cool off, Cox "walked around Providence at dusk" feeling "totally alone", while admiring his "meditative" surroundings. In the instrumental track "Red Ink", Cox and drummer Moses Archuleta worked to create an atmosphere in which the listener is dreaming he or she is dead and the experience of death feels like reality.