The song had first been announced back in 2016 through a Periscope livestream that revealed the titles of tracks the band were working on, with one of them being "Bubblegum Dog".

[4] Jo Vito of Consequence of Sound called the track a "indie rock bop with punchy drums" with an acoustic opening, fuzzed-out bottom end, and a dissonant piano line "adding color throughout".

[2] In a review by Stay Free Radio, they noted how MGMT seems to defy expectations on the track, starting as a gentle acoustic piece in line of their previous work before taking a "delightful twist".

Furthermore, believing that the "Bubblegum Dog" in the lyrics is a metaphor for nagging fear, suppressed anxieties, or consequences of past actions.

[11] In a statement, Scharpling and Vickerman said that:“We all saw the video for “Bubblegum Dog” as an opportunity to combine the charming, DIY, surreal, cardboard craft aesthetic of shows like Yo Gabba Gabba and The Mighty Boosh with these ultra-serious grunge videos we grew up watching on MTV – all that heavy, brooding angst smashed up against absurd childlike fun,"[12][13][14][15]Further elaborating on this, Scharpling and Vickerman added that:“Ben and Andrew are legitimately funny guys, so we were excited they got to really go for it with their acting, paying homage to the eternally moody mid-90’s rock stars they looked up to when they were kids.

Ben got quite a bit in his mouth, which was unintentional … but he thought it was funny, so then we were allowed to think it was funny.”[16][17][18]The video includes specific references to The Smashing Pumpkins "Today", Pearl Jam's "Jeremy", Stone Temple Pilots "Vasoline" and "Interstate Love Song", Red Hot Chili Peppers "Under the Bridge", Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" and Alice in Chains Unplugged among others.