Not Accepted Anywhere - Composition

Composition

In retrospect Rob Hawkins described the lyrics of Not Accepted Anywhere as personal to the band members experiences up until that point. The title itself is a play upon Mastercard's promotional phrase "Accepted Everywhere". The band originally considered calling the album Now Here in Nowhere.

Lead track "That's What She Said" makes references to pop culture and the drones of day-to-day lives - waiting for the weekend to begin, "Raoul" similarly is about being stuck in routines - with Raoul's being a sandwich shop in Cardiff were the band would escape during studio time. "You Shout You Shout You Shout You Shout" also deals with pop culture - specifically pop music and those who listen to it. "Recover" is about trying to motivate yourself and do something other than sit in front of the TV.

"Monster" is about binge drinking and being intoxicated on alcohol- which reveals the monster in people. Both "Seriously...I Hate You Guys" and "Team Drama" were written about people in the bands lives who "force their problems onto you". "On The Campaign Trail" was written about the band's first experiences of touring in the United Kingdom, with the title referencing Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72.

Not Accepted Anywhere combined elements of dance punk, indie rock and hard rock. Much of the heavier distorted guitars originally recorded for the album were either removed or made less prominent in the first release of Not Accepted Anywhere. The band used 3 different synthesisers during the recording of the album - an Alesis Micron, Roland Juno-106 and an Alesis Andromeda. Vocal parts were split between Rob Hawkins who sings the lead vocal on each track, whilst James Frost provides backing vocals and Alex Pennie provides both screams and flat vocals. Many albums tracks have three distinctly separate vocal parts, using call and response style layering.