Lead singer Dominique Durand wrote the song with band members Adam Schlesinger and Andy Chase, who both produced it.

"Edge of the Ocean" was featured in various television advertising campaigns, including for Holland America in 2002 and American Airlines in 2011, and has since been referred to as Ivy's signature song.

[1] Around the same time, the band's New York City recording studio burned down and was replaced with a new one, founded by Schlesinger and other member Andy Chase.

[2][3] After reissuing Apartment Life, member Adam Schlesinger released his second studio album with American band Fountains of Wayne, Utopia Parkway (1999).

Ivy recorded the song at Stratosphere Sound in New York City while mastering occurred at nearby Sony Music Studios and was handled by Vlado Meller.

[19] He continued, saying that while writing the song, they tried "to go 100 percent" with creating a lyrical balance that "[came] from a specific place and yet remain[ed] general, even vague, enough that they can apply to anyone".

[19] In his weekly musical column, Bradford Brady from Star-News called Durand's vocals "haunting" and compared them to American singer Karen Carpenter.

[21] Tom Topkoff from Hybrid magazine referred to "Edge of the Ocean" as a "captivating and escapist tune" that sets the album's tone.

[23] American musicians Jeremy Freeman and fellow Paco member Michael Hampton are credited with providing additional loops and sounds to the song.

Noel Dix from Exclaim liked it and album tracks "Worry About You" and "While We're in Love" for "com[ing] across as genuine rather than a pop band trying to cross over to the electronic scene".

[29] In a negative review, a critic from Alternative Press grouped "Edge of the Ocean" with the tracks that are "improbably edgeless, all love-me-do/love-me-don't plaints that evaporate on impact" on Long Distance.

[36] Ivy appeared as themselves on the American scripted television series Roswell to perform the Duotone Mix of "Edge of the Ocean" on the season 3 episode "To Have and to Hold" (2001).

[33][39] Ivy also lent the song to Holland America in 2002 for their then-upcoming ad campaign, in a move that Chase thought would be beneficial to the band.

Location shots of nearby boats, cliffs and landscape are interwoven with scenes of Durand, Schlesinger, and Chase adventuring oceanside.