He was joined by most of the recording crew from his 2010 album Airtight's Revenge, including producer Shafiq Husayn, drummer Steve McKie, and pianist Robert Glasper.

The songs abandon the personal and societal themes of Airtight's Revenge in favor of lyrics about cultivating a romance and meditative laments on its dissolution.

A Love Surreal received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised Bilal's expressive singing, clever songwriting, and mellow musical style.

[2] He describes writing the album as a surrealistic exploration of love,[3] inspired by the surrealism of Spanish painter Salvador Dalí,[2] having viewed a 2005 exhibit of his work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

[2] "For the longest I was supposed to sign with [eOne Music] and actually put Love for Sale out, but you know, things happen", Bilal told Okayplayer.

[5] Bilal originally intended to record A Love Surreal as an extended play when he entered the studio,[8] but, according to him, "it was just so easy that the music started to flow ... by the fifth day we were like 'damn, we made a mistake and wrote five extra songs.

[8] For the song "Back to Love", Bilal originally programmed the music's drums on his Logic, but decided to record them live after bringing in other musicians at Pine Studios in Philadelphia.

[10] The music is characterized by subtle melodic hooks,[1] muted drum programming,[11] glimmering keyboards, sparse indie rock guitars, and defined jazz piano.

[12] Bilal's sense of melody and harmony is informed by past operatic and jazz training, and his reverence for atmospheric psychedelic soul albums.

[14] Evan Rytlewski of Paste observes unconventional applications of jazz throughout A Love Surreal, but characterizes it foremost as a neo soul album due to its "heady, post-Dilla hip-hop thump and periodic psychedelic drift".

[8] The album closes with lyrics about the promise of tomorrow: "Woke up this morning to the sound of a bluebird singing / Suddenly I knew just where to begin / Something so simple / How can it speak so loud to me?

[3] AllMusic's Andy Kellman said Bilal had improved as a producer and songwriter while remaining "supernaturally skilled and creative" as a vocalist, "swooping, diving, wailing, and sighing, all with complete command".

[1] Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe called it "bracingly good", "compelling music" that allows Bilal's "falsetto to bring the intimate lyrics to life".

Pitchfork journalist Jayson Greene said it is a "joy" to listen to Bilal "warp his voice into improbable shapes", but believed the music lacks any prominent melodies.

[11] Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times was more critical of the closing series of slow jams and "atmospheric clutter", while writing that the album's best songs "warrant the increased attention" in Bilal.