"i touch roses" was written by band member theodore ("ted") ottaviano. after the success of their first single, "boy", "i touch roses" followed a similar trajectory, securing that the band would record a full album for sire records. in 2009, ted ottaviano revealed, "we didn't know it at the time, but thankfully, with 'i touch roses', it was not preordained that sire was developing us at the time. there was no grand scheme. it was more a la carte. but then people started picking up on 'roses' and then the album happened."