The album features an appearance by Tool drummer Danny Carey, as well as an assortment of artists and musicians from the Los Angeles scene.

Lusk included Paul D'Amour (formerly of Tool), Brad Laner (Medicine), Chris Pitman (Guns N' Roses), and Failure and Autolux member Greg Edwards .

It premiered on 120 Minutes in September 1997, and was also the first video placed into heavy rotation on the channel after it received the most votes in four episodes of the short-lived video-rating series 12 Angry Viewers.

"[2] AllMusic's Steve Bekkala wrote in his review "Blending lo-fi dime store psychedelia with layered shoegazing soundscapes, Free Mars stakes out the murky sonic turf located somewhere in the midst of My Bloody Valentine, Olivia Tremor Control, and Spiritualized.

"[1] Free Mars would go on to get a Grammy award nomination for Best Recording Package, but lost out to Titanic: Music as Heard on the Fateful Voyage.