Cut Copy worked on the album between 2014 and 2016, mostly remotely, using online file sharing to exchange ideas,[1][2] due to the band members' dispersion to distant locations (Dan in Europe, Tim and Ben in the United States, and Mitchell in Australia).

The band was joined by Ben H. Allen with whom they had already worked on Zonoscope and who would end up as the producer of the album this time around.

[10] In his review for AllMusic, Tim Sendra described Haiku from Zero as the band's "most straightforward, easy-to-swallow album yet", but also reflected that it is missing "inspiration or invention, which also means it is their least successful record yet as well.

"[12] Reviewer Rudy K. of Sputnikmusic described the album's energy as "impressive; the craft, even more so", but complained that it does not have "any sense of vision", summing it up as "a bunch of great songs and little else".

[19] In a review for Exclaim!, Cam Lindsay praised the album as "another strong effort by a band that continue to celebrate the power of dance music".