Editing Exit English (section)

==Composition==
Musically, the sound of ''Exit English'' has been described as [[hardcore punk]],<ref name=Oxreview/> [[melodic hardcore]],<ref name=PNreview/> and [[punk rock]].<ref name=AMreview/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://loudwire.com/legendary-punk-hardcore-albums-no-weak-songs/|title=25 Legendary Punk + Hardcore Albums With No Weak Songs|work=Loudwire|date=May 18, 2020|accessdate=March 21, 2021}}</ref> Barnett's vocals were compared to Jason Shevchuk of [[Kid Dynamite (band)|Kid Dynamite]] and Ari Katz of [[Lifetime (band)|Lifetime]].<ref name=PNreview/> Smith said the album's title refers to "thinking for yourself and not embracing American ideals worldwide".<ref name=PBinterview>{{cite web|url=https://www.punkbands.com/interviews/154|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013060538/http://www.punkbands.com/interviews/154|title=Strike Anywhere|publisher=Punkbands|date=February 14, 2002|archivedate=October 13, 2008|accessdate=December 12, 2021}}</ref> Barnett's notebooks, which contained lyrics and song ideas, were stolen from his car shortly before recording, prompting the rest of the members to aid in the writing.<ref name=AMPinterview/> Barnett said the album was based on local stories, like ''Change Is a Sound'', the that it is "at once 10 times more [about their hometown] Richmond, about secret histories, slave insurrections, women riots pointing guns at their husbands and brothers, the Confederate army burning the city. All of these ideas, stories, and histories that were hidden from our public education informed in our songs". He mentioned that it was a lot more melodic that its predecessor, saying that the others had "written more harmonic guitar parts".<ref name=PIinterview>{{cite web|url=http://www.punk-it.net/Interviews/strike.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051227051600/http://www.punk-it.net/Interviews/strike.html|title=Strike Anywhere|publisher=Punk-It|date=October 30, 2003|archivedate=December 27, 2005|accessdate=August 7, 2022}}</ref>

"We Amplify" acts as a prologue to "Blaze", which alongside "To the World" were viewed as an East Coast iteration of [[the Offspring]].<ref name=PNreview/><ref name=AMreview/> "Blaze" features Barnett quoting lines from [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]]'s poem ''[[The Masque of Anarchy]]''. "New Architects" and "Aluminium Union" were referred to as faster [[Good Riddance (band)|Good Riddance]] songs.<ref name=Exclaimreview/> Barnett described "Lights Go Out" as the "most punch-you-in-the-face visceral" track on the album.<ref name=PIinterview/> "Fifth Estate" is a [[hardcore punk]] [[power ballad]] about the control of [[mass media]].<ref name=CMJreview/> For "Modern Life", Petrie asked Barnett to write about topics such as [[Animal Liberation (organisation)|Animal Liberation]] and [[vegetarianism]].<ref name=AMPinterview>{{cite web|url=http://65.108.164.40/interview_strikeanywhere_17.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050321210708/http://65.108.164.40/interview_strikeanywhere_17.html|title=Strike Anywhere|work=[[AMP (magazine)|AMP]]|author=Lalonde, Angele|date=January 2004|archivedate=March 21, 2005|accessdate=December 18, 2021}}</ref> Discussing "Extinguish", Barnett said it was about the "fact that in the States only the story of the rich men is ever told, how they built America."<ref name=Oxinterview/> It was a homage to their hometown of Richmond. The penultimate song "In the Fingernails", which begins with handcalps and a tambourine, is an [[anti-war]] track.<ref name=TBPreview/>