The single was engineered by Mark Rankin and produced by Paul Epworth and Björn Yttling (of Peter Bjorn and John) at Primal Scream’s North London studio.

[2][3] As the first taste of Beautiful Future, “Can’t Go Back” heralded Primal Scream’s latest sound, a fusion of pop, new wave, and traditional song structures with the punk aggression and electro production qualities that distinguished their 2000 album XTRMNTR.

It is a more straightforward rock song that plays up the band’s bombast and immediacy rather than an attempt to innovate.

[4][5] This approach was referenced in the sometimes self-contradictory reviews for “Can’t Go Back,” which reflected a growing critical ambivalence towards Primal Scream.

The NME equivocated, “With a dental-drill hook and Bobby muttering about how he ‘Stuck a needle in my arm…stuck it in my baby’s heart,’ ‘Can’t Go Back’ rockets straight from the XTRMNTR school of propulsive, night-streaked electro-rock’n’roll.