The mood of B-side "Splintered in Her Head" is overall more disquieting, with metallic, distorted vocals and heavy percussion, foreshadowing the sound and feel of the band's next studio album, Pornography.

The single was recorded over 16 and 17 July 1981 at Mike Hedges' Playground Studio, named by Robert Smith, in between European festival dates and an upcoming North American tour.

On advice by Fiction label owner Chris Parry, the music video for "Charlotte Sometimes" was filmed at Holloway Sanatorium.

It features the character of Charlotte recreating scenes from the story in the presence of the band, while Smith mimes the words of the song.

The book The Rough Guide to Cult Pop called the song "a goth masterpiece of doomed beauty and ruined elegance".