Girl at the End of the World received generally positive reviews from music critics, with some complimenting James' change in style.

[4] When touring to promote La Petite Mort concluded at the end of the year, vocalist Tim Booth asked Dingel if he would produce their next album; recording had been planned for mid-2015.

[6] James travelled to the Scottish Highlands in January 2015, and spent three weeks working on material, as they had done for La Petite Mort; writing sessions this time included keyboardist Mark Hunter and guitarist-violinist Saul Davies.

[9] James set up a space on the top floor of the Tolbooth, building a rehearsal room with mattresses that were taped to the windows for soundproofing.

[5] The final block, in August and September, saw James work on the last details of the recordings, and complete some lead vocals for the tracks.

[12] Booth contacted Brian Eno, who had produced five of James' previous albums, about helping with two tracks on which they were working, one of them being "Nothing But Love".

"[9] Unlike La Petite Mort, which is centred around one theme, the songs on Girl at the End of the World address a variety of motifs: love, passion, imagery of fire and traveling, and living in California.

[18][19] The wonky pop and synth-pop song "To My Surprise" continues the previous track's upbeat sound, with a more dance-like nature.

[13] "Dear John" is a synth-pop track about the end of a relationship; the synthesizer line is reminiscent of the one in Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out of My Head" (2001).

[18][19][25] Booth referred to it as a "[j]aunty dark divorce song"; it was originally called "Jesus" and tackled sexual abuse by priests.

[26][27] Booth examines mortality and art on the acoustic "Feet of Clay", recalling the title track from James' fourth studio album Seven (1992).

"[32] "Move Down South" features an alternative country-sounding slide guitar, with distorted riffs being played in the vein of The Joshua Tree (1987)-era U2.

[25] The opening evokes some of James' earliest songs, such as "Hymn from a Village" (1985), and deals with droughts in California, where Booth lived.

[18][20] Discussing "Girl at the End of the World", Booth said that there were several hairpin turns near his home in Topanga where drivers would go over the edge.

"[33] In August 2015, James made a number of festival appearances; Gott was unable to play the shows, being replaced by Oxaal.

[23] Two release shows for Girl at the End of the World were played in February 2016, followed by a performance at the Dubai Jazz Festival.

[42] Girl at the End of the World was made available for streaming via The Telegraph's website, before its 18 March 2016 release through BMG, the first of a three-album contract with the label.

[45] On 23 May 2016, the music video for "Girl at the End of the World", also made by Merc, premiered on Culture Collide's website; it features the Killers frontman Brandon Flowers and Alexandra Chelaru.

[46] James played at a number of festivals across France, the UK, Spain, Greece, and Portugal between June and September 2016, including an opening slot at Glastonbury.

[51] The band played in Mexico during March and April 2017, with "To My Surprise" being released as the third single from Girl at the End of the World during the latter month.

[54] The Music writer Mac McNaughton called Girl at the End of the World "densely produced," which "almost suffocat[ed] the guitars in places.

"[29] Clash writer Sam Walker-Smart wrote that although the album has "some bad ideas," he liked the band's decision to experiment, and "sounding like they're enjoying it while they do.

[25] AllMusic reviewer Timothy Monger wrote that Girl at the End of the World is "a little stylistically scattershot and lacking in cohesion.

[65] All songs written by Tim Booth, Larry Gott, Jim Glennie, Saul Davies, and Mark Hunter.