Big Truck might seem somewhat distant from Soft Play's scorched-earth energy, but it hasn’t been completely abandoned. Where Vincent previously provided the musical backbone while Isaac James took the vocal lead, Big Truck puts him at the front for the first time, and the influences that come pouring out are softer, more varied, and distinctly more melodic. Vincent cites The Cure, The Smiths, The War On Drugs, Sam Fender, and even The Breeders. "Because I'm taking the helm of the lyricist and the primary songwriter, my natural influences are just coming out on my sleeve," he says. "In Soft Play, a lot of the vocal ideas are from Isaac. The more melodic stuff is something I've always been into, whether I've realised it or not.”

A culmination of broad influences and experiences, Big Truck’s songwriting features multitudes as the band flesh out the rest of their textured sound with their own distinct backgrounds. Coppins draws from jazz percussion, while keyboardist Justin Myles is rooted in R&B and soul, and guitarist Justin Thallon draws from his time spent as a metal guitarist. Look to their debut album, , and you’ll find that these stacked dynamics constitute a clean slate with fresh bite. The songs honour post-punk grooves, lean into being impressionistic, and play with the accessibility of pop songcraft. Vincent still oscillates — often within a single song — from shouting to singing, something that he simply attributes to attitude versus a commitment to genre. "The band still has a raw energy to it, that attitude of humour, directness, and rawness, even in Big Truck. It does slide from shouting to singing. There's definitely still got the vibe of what we've done in the past.”

While still retaining some past structures, Big Truck’s approach to developing the new material came with different strategic points. "The process came around as a want to play together, which we started as the two of us in my basement, and then Asa joined. When we realised we wanted to record it live, to have that magic telepathy that happens once you're playing, we booked a residency in our local pub. We did four or five shows down there. By the time we arrived at the studio, we knew where we wanted the vocals to sit.”