[3] Bend was released on CD and cassette on February 11, 1992, with eleven tracks featuring a more mature sound with elements of psychedelia, folk, rock, and power pop.

Upon release, Bend did not chart on the Billboard 200, receiving little attention during the changing era of grunge at the time.

Allmusic gave the album an editor rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars, with Stanton Swihart describing it as "elastic, funky, vaguely spacey, rhythm heavy, soulful.

The quartet sounds less reigned in, and, as a result, they were able to let the songs find their own forms and create a considerably more organic and rootsy vibe."

Swihart continues... "the most impressive songs position themselves in a long Golden State lineage, from the Neil Young echoes of "Giving It All" to the gloomy, epic folk-rock of "Candymine" and the glimmering, sun-over-the-horizon feel of "Never Again."