Ice on the Dune

In an interview with MetroLyrics, Nick Littlemore explained that the writing of the album was influenced by frequent touring and travel and the "tyranny of distance",[13] primarily from family. He described the song "I'll Be Around" as "a nice message to each other—to Luke and I, and then to our loved ones and our families and to the audience, that 'we will be around'".[12]

In the same interview, Littlemore again reinforced the impact of distance, stating, "When we came back together, initially it felt like a secret affair and it was great, but then as you run deeper into that relationship again, there were things that we communicated to each other."[13] Elaborating, he said, "We [communicate through] the nature of song. [...] I think there was a large part of what we were writing about was distance and longing, and I guess some way of kind of sending out a message to the wider world, like that there is a force field that protects all of us and no matter where you are, if you feel for someone and they're in your heart, then you're always with them in some sense."[13]

Expanding on the meaning behind the album's title to Pigeons and Planes, Luke Steele spoke of it as being "like an invisible hummingbird with that lyric and melody came in. Ice on the dune. And no one really knew what it meant. It was like ice on the dune and while we were shooting the first video in that canyon, there were these ginormous dunes with slithers of ice. It was serendipitous like ice on the dune." Despite being unable to answer what he wanted listeners to take away from the record, Steele did comment that "the beauty of it is what people get from it [...] People just need to have an open mind when they listen to music."[14]

The album opens with the instrumental track "Lux", which several critics likened to a Danny Elfman composition[15][16] with an orchestral and cinematic quality.[3][17] The song was composed by Henry Hey, whom Littlemore met in New York City through producer Phil Ramone.[12] The second track, "DNA", was released as a promotional single around the time of the album's release[18] and contains disco hallmarks[16][17] as well as "breezy acoustic strumming and throbbing synths".[19] Its verses are driven by acoustic guitars and "melodic synth lines",[20] before bass-heavy chords are introduced into its chorus, according to MTV News.[20] Critics termed lead single and third track "Alive", a synth-pop-based song with elements of house,[3] "catchy",[21] with Neil Ashman of Drowned in Sound labelling it as "life-affirming electro-fuzz".[22] It was also stated to have a "schoolyard" quality.[17][19] The Observer called both it and following song "Concert Pitch" "deliriously upbeat confections".[23] Sarah H. Grant of Consequence of Sound likened "Concert Pitch" to a "dance-floor tantrum inspired by the many Neil Tennant had himself",[19] and the song was also said to contain a "punchy disco pulse and wistfully breathy chorus".[22] In an interview with Moshcam, Steele said the song reminded him of Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty; he composed the song in a Santa Monica hotel room after experiences while in New York:[14] "I had a real [...] breakdown [...] I was just so confused about [my] whole position in [...] my entertainment/musical life", pointing out this as the reason for the opening lyric "I don't wanna be so complicated".[24]

Title track "Ice on the Dune", a Eurodance-inspired[16] song with "wistful choruses",[25] was especially praised by Kevin Catchpole of PopMatters, who observed it as having "'80s" vocals and opined it was fitting as the title of the album.[3] Tim Sendra of AllMusic felt it had soft rock influences.[21] Following track "Awakening" was also said to contain a disco sound[3] and a "Donna Summer thump",[16] while "I'll Be Around", a midtempo ballad, was declared "ethereal"[25] and "reverb-swamped".[17] Steele was praised for his "delicate vocal approach" to the song, which Ashman judged was "oddly redolent of Mew".[22] The primarily instrumental "Old Flavours" was pointed out for its tropical infusions[26] and disco influences.[21] "Celebrate" is an electronic rock song set to a dance beat with robotic Auto-Tuned vocals,[17][25][26] which was described as a "throbbing Madonna-inspired club jam".[21] Subsequent cut "Surround Sound" was called "incredibly bouncy and fun",[21] and was especially marked for its lyrical content,[19] containing such lines as "Let's push through four dimensions/'Til our brains turn to jelly" and "Meditate with no thinking/Eternally".[16] Both "Celebrate" and "Disarm" were singled out as being "EDM at its warmest-sounding".[27] Multiple album reviews noted several songs' similarity to Daft Punk tracks, especially "Awakening" and "Celebrate".[21] Several were noted to have sounds reminiscent of dubstep according to NME, notably "Concert Pitch", "Awakening" and "Old Flavours";[17] Grant of Consequence of Sound felt much of the album is stylistically rooted in new wave.[19] Another comparison made was album closer "Keep a Watch", which features a gospel choir,[26] to David Bowie,[28] often in a negative context.[29] AllMusic's Tim Sendra proclaimed it an "OTT ballad that ends the album in an overwrought splash of powdery tears", and Ashman also noted it to be a "poised piano ballad" which lapsed into "overblown histrionics".[21]

• Dave Homer – cover artwork
• Mathematics – additional artwork