[4] However, "Maybe Someday" and "Out of This World" were issued as promotional singles to radio in the UK, US, Canada and numerous territories in Europe.

But I like that slow development, and I didn't want to impose the three-and-a-half-minute structure on anything I was writing, because it just felt stupid.” However, Smith had realised "in hindsight, that it's the songs themselves that probably need trimming back, but I think that they benefit from their length.

In subsequent years, Smith identified it as his favourite Cure album in a 2004 Rolling Stone interview.

[7] The second track on the album, "Watching Me Fall" was featured in the end credits of the 2000 horror film American Psycho.

[13] Rolling Stone criticized the quality of the compositions, saying, "[Smith] can write four bad songs in a row, and Cure albums tend to leak filler like an attic spilling insulation" and concluded, "Bloodflowers, is half dismissible droning, an unforgivable ratio considering it's only nine tracks long.

"[17] Similarly, Trouser Press stated in their review: "The album sounds completely uninspired, as Smith and company go through the motions of Cure-ness.

[21] AllMusic noted that although Bloodflowers contained all the Cure's musical trademarks, "morose lyrics, keening vocals, long running times", "the album falls short of the mark, largely because it sounds too self-conscious".