The Union Trade subscribe to an ethic of experimentalism, intent on creating music with a visceral impact. This attitude is reflected in their use of effects, the manipulation of instrumental sounds and feedback, changing tempos, unique song structures, and varying time signatures. The Trade's sound reveals the band's alternative, indie and post-rock influences such as Sonic Youth, Slint, Ride, Mineral, Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky, The Appleseed Cast, Longwave, and Film School. The final, perhaps defining, element of The Union Trade sound is their ability to channel this sonic ambition into carefully crafted and accessible songs with emotional immediacy, in emulation of artists and bands such as Neil Young, Sunny Day Real Estate, Pedro The Lion, Early Day Miners, The New Year and Earlimart.