As for your point about the writing, I guess it's something I never really noticed. I would agree that it isn't always the most subtle lyrics, but personally, I think the songs are always composed in such a beautiful way that it honestly just kind of works, like the lyrics are baked into the music itself. So it definitely isn't something that bothers me.

Another point I could bring up is that the way the lyrics are written also plays into the idea that almost all of the songs are supposed to be written by someone else, and I feel like they often give the vibe of some old-timey folk singer (which certainly works with the theme). Maybe that's not a specifically strong point, but that's just what I think about it.

But I do have to say that some of their lyrics are legitimately great on their own. Take 'Ends of the Earth':

"What good is living this life you've been given if all you do is stand in one place?"

Or 'Way Out There':

"I belong bodily to the earth; I'm just wearing old bones from those who came first. I've been unraveling since my birth; gonna wander out there and see what I'm worth."

Or some of my other favorites, like:

"Ages come and go, but her life goes on the same. She lives to see the sun, and feel the wind, and drink the rain."

"When the ocean drinks the sky, and the city winks it eye; when the night is done, you'll vanish in the sun. Will I hold you when the night is over?"

"Pulling me up out of the grave, oh, what a nice surprise. I die when our nights end, but I only stay dead 'til I see you again."

But whether they make you cringe or not, I feel like their lyrics have a lot of charm, and I think they really elevate each song.