[1] After Los Pantalones broke up in 1995, former members guitarist Brian Mashburn, bassist Bull Uechi, saxophonist Eric Zamora, and trumpeter José Castellaños[2] formed a new band with a new vocalist.

Powell, who had connections in the Orange County music scene because of being in Larry and her contact with Reel Big Fish, became the band's manager.

[6] Save Ferris performed at a Grammy Awards showcase for bands[6] and won the final round of the competition, which took place in New York City in February 1997.

[7] Senior vice-president of artists and repertoire (A&R) at Epic Records David Massey witnessed this and decided to sign the band, saying it was "one of those spontaneous things.

[10] It Means Everything was largely recorded at NRG and The Hook studios, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, between April and June 1997.

Goddard mixed the album at Record Plant in Hollywood; Greg Collins, Steve Mixdorf, Kenji Nakai and Lisa Lewis served as secondary engineers.

[12] AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine said Save Ferris tried to differentiate from their ska-punk contemporaries by incorporating elements of swing music, which he thought was adapted from the work of the Squirrel Nut Zippers.

[13] Clay also acknowledged the swing connection, adding with a touch of power pop, "this young gang of seven has created its own ska hybrid".

[12] Nude as the News writer David Thomas said the album is "short on punk, sticking to an elemental version of ska"; he said the horn section "itself doesn't try to imitate guitars" as members of Less Than Jake do, instead styling "themselves after big bands from the swing age" of the 1920s and 1930s.

[12] Save Ferris' version of "Come On Eileen" shifts towards ska compared to the Dexys Midnight Runners original; the staff at Billboard said Save Ferris have a "deft way of serving from jittery guitars to sunny horns" with tempo changes as the "verses dart from a breathtaking pogo pace to the more shoulder-shaking rate of the chorus".

The orchestration consisted of violinists Howard Gott and Laura Williams, violaist Naomi Fairhurst and cellist Ed Jeffries.

[8] "The World Is New" was released as a single in Europe with live versions of "Spam" and "Artificial Life", and Operation Ivy cover, as its B-sides.

[29] Clay was equally enthusiastic about the album, saying "these catchy, infectious numbers teem with enough quirky style to sway even the most stationary" of listeners.

[12] Erlewine noted similar to their peers, Save Ferris have a "tendency to wallow in smirking 'irony' ... which may sound good in concert, but it sinks on record".

Erlewine highlighted Powell for her "energy and charisma", and Mashburn for his ability to compose a hook, citing "The World Is New" and "Superspy" as examples.

[13] Thomas said Mashburn's "strictly ska guitar work makes It Means Everything stand out with its own style" and also praised Powell for her voice, which he said is "sultry at times, but more often pleasantly sweet".

[14] Megan Frampton of CMJ New Music Report wrote Save Ferris's "strongest attribute is Powell's vocals, and armed with them, this group can no doubt succeed where few ska bands have".