vocalist andrew schwab has remained the band's lead lyricist. schwab has said most lyrics are based on his emotions. he also tries to incorporate social commentary from literature. prominent influences include comic book artist chris ware and writers chris bachelder, don delillo, aldous huxley, george orwell, and t. s. eliot. he has written lyrics on a variety of topics, including alcohol abuse ("one-armed man"), conformity ("s.m.c."), emptiness ("evil (a chorus of resistance)"), greed ("cold and calculated"), nightlife ("molotov"), spirituality ("chapter 2"), pornography ("p.s."), and child molestation ("sioux lane spirits").