[1] The album incorporates elements of avant-garde music,[4][5] including the use of feedback; noise; dissonance;[6] and soundscapes which feature "dense layers of texture".

[3][7] Lynch's "Fifties-style" guitar sound on Crazy Clown Time often features use of tremolo,[8][9][10] and other effects are used throughout the album, including considerable use of reverb and delay.

[1] "Strange and Unproductive Thinking", which includes themes from "cosmic awareness to tooth decay",[5] features lyrics centered around and referencing Transcendental Meditation, a technique Lynch uses and is an advocate of.

Describing the process of designing the packaging, Oliver said: "I was aiming for a sexy, kitsch quality with the black suede slipcase and red foil-blocked type.

"[7] A four-out-of-five-star review in Billboard said that "Good Day Today" "hits a direct sweet spot" and likened the album's "3-D sonic wash" to "wide-open desert landscapes" and "the kind of barely hinged" characters in Lynch's films, but criticized the "dense layers of texture and avant ambience" and how the album "[spends] a lot more time with noir, impressionistic pieces.

"[4] Clash writer Anna Wilson referred to Crazy Clown Time as "a masterful accomplishment" and "beautifully beguiling" and said its production was "as meticulous as the sound design in [Lynch's] movies", rating it eight out of ten.

[9] Rating the album a C+ in Consequence of Sound, critic Adam Kivel commented that "[al]though it won't make you think that he's a musician first and a filmmaker second" that Crazy Clown Time's "expressive, emotive features … create a real response in the listener, from familiarity to icy discomfort.

"[2] Though praising the album's atmosphere and opening track in Rolling Stone, critic Nick Catucci awarded Crazy Clown Time a two-out-of-five-star rating and referred to it as "numbing".

"[22] All tracks are written by David Lynch and Dean HurleyAll personnel credits adapted from Crazy Clown Time's album notes.