Songwriting
Songwriting for Augie March is primarily initiated by Richards; he delivers demos to the rest of the band members who then collaborate with him to develop the music. Kathy McCabe of The Daily Telegraph suggests "almost every songwriter in Australia has name-checked as one of the finest tunesmiths of his generation" and that "Richards is a storyteller who is spoken of in reverential terms by peers". Richards simply states that he enjoys "dabbling with words", and that people often appreciate him doing so. Despite this, Richards rejects the "literary" reputation he believes the band have gained. At the 2006 ARIA Awards, Midnight Oil's Rob Hirst called for more political songs; Richards told Simon Collins of The West Australian he saw great risk in writing political music, and would rather write music that rung true, so that "I can sing the song a thousand times after it's been written". Richards asserts he preferred to draw on everyday experiences than on literary influences. He also says that some of the music he writes is intentionally confusing.
The band, and especially Richards, are noted for their perfectionism. In a post-Sunset Studies interview with Grok magazine in 2000, Williams criticised the song "The Good Gardener (On How He Fell)", to which the interviewer noted "the Augie March perfectionism ... a slavish, romantic, almost passionate pursuit". This meme continued throughout Augie March's career; following the release of Moo, You Bloody Choir, Richards said he was not truly happy with anything he had produced so far. Ammendola agreed, and added that the band considered Moo, You Bloody Choir the weakest of their first three albums, and Sunset Studies the best. Richards later stated that he considered Watch Me Disappear his best album yet. Andrew Murfett wrote in The Age that for Augie March, "creative tension, adverse circumstances and perfectionism seem to go hand in hand". Whereas Augie March's first two albums saw Richards maintain control over production, Moo, You Bloody Choir and Watch Me Disappear "became community projects", and for that reason Richards declared he was not as much a fan of the latter works, though other band members have described the songs on Watch Me Disappear as the band's best yet.
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