Common lyrical themes include technology and a resistance to change. Adrien Begrand, writing for PopMatters, described the lyrics on "The Sophtware Slump" as "one's attempt to transcend the glut of technology in today's urban lifestyle, in search of something more real, more natural, more pastoral". Ben Sisario of "The New York Times" stated that the band "provided the soundtrack to dot-com-era alienation, singing in a cracked yet still innocent voice of life spent staring into a computer screen". Ross Raihala, reviewing "Sumday" for "Spin", identified what he called Lytle's "geeky identification with technology". On "The Sophtware Slump", CMJ writer Richard A. Martin commented on Lytle's "sympathy for the lost souls and machines of the high-tech dot-com landscape". Lytle described his empathy with machines in 2003, stating "I find it easier dealing with certain things by living through inanimate objects" and how the song "I'm on Standby" is about Lytle relating to a mobile phone: "I was spending so much time learning the art of turning off, while still being 'on'".