Written two years before its release, the song was inspired by the band's adjustment to their newfound celebrity status, having found themselves in a scene where fame was prized as currency.

The visual features the 1975 performing the song alongside cardboard cutouts of various celebrities, and received positive reviews from contemporary critics.

The singer described the track as making light of the band's newfound fame while adjusting to the "quite lavish, ridiculous part" of the social fabric they were unfamiliar with.

[5] Healy told Joe Lynch of Billboard that he wanted "Love Me" to embrace a narrative of: "The rock star buying into his own self-constructed mythology."

The singer wanted the song to sound bombastic, ridiculous and slightly arrogant, representing the 1975 being immersed in a world they did not feel part of.

The guitarist told Tzvi Gluckin that typically, Daniel builds the basis of a song on his laptop using Logic Pro, sending Hann a simple guitar idea.

He cited the film Weird Science (1985), producer Trevor Horn and bands such as Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Oingo Boingo as influences on the song.

[14] The production contains an intricate mesh of guitars and synthesisers,[15] chunky 1980s riffs, "huge" shivering hooks,[16] thin and bright rhythm guitars panning between speakers, wibbly synth breaks,[17] a synth solo, cowbells,[10] a 1980s-style saxophone and background vocals which come out of the left and right channels, which Jonathan Wroble of Slant Magazine described as a "chorus of adulation".

[8] "Love Me" is distinctly different from the band's previous music, eschewing their trademark ethereal and ambient elements in favour of a more 1980s pop sound that incorporates aspects of new wave and post-punk.

[24][25] "Love Me" is also an admission of wrongdoing, with the lyrics serving as an apology to the band itself for losing sight of what is most important to them—the music, singing in the pre-chorus: "We've just come to represent a decline in the standards of what we accept!

Unlike the 1975's previous songs, the singer eschews a crooning style and adopts "jumping" melodies and musical articulations such as staccato to give the track an emotional depth.

[24] Kika Chatterjee of Alternative Press called the track "blatantly Bowie-esque, perfectly at home on a disco dance floor".

[35] NME ranked "Love Me" at number 5 on their year-end list; Emily Barker commended the lyrics, wordplay and themes, while noting the song mines "Fame"-era David Bowie, Talking Heads and INXS.

[17] In his review of I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It, Collar called the song delightful, while comparing it to "something Madonna might have made in collaboration with Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers and art-pop duo Yello".

[37] Gigwise editor Andrew Trendell said the track is the most pop-inclined song the band has ever created, describing it as a mixture of the Red Hot Chili Peppers "soaked" in a 1980s vibe that blends Bowie's Let's Dance, the "sexiest" Prince moments, the power pop of Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" (1986) and Bros.[18] In their review of "Love Me", the editorial staff of DIY called the song "massive" and said it represents a huge statement from the band, praising the "spiky, Prince-aping guitar work and unabashed [1980s] love".

[11] Billboard editor Nick Williams lauded Healy's newfound embrace of a "rock-star growl", deeming the song an impressive coming-of-age change that deviates from the teen-rock of the band's prior catalogue.

[19] Snapes praised the "zeitgeist-capturing" couplet "I'm just with my friends online and there's things we'd like to change", noting that the track's lyrics make Healy "sound like the trustafarian street poet that he already slightly resembles".

[24] Andy Baber of musicOMH praised the "bold" chorus and called "Love Me" a "funky" stylistic curveball, saying it demonstrates the band's desire to push the boundaries of their sound.

[52] In developing the visual, the 1975 sought to capture the "neon-hued enthralling acquisition of success and excess", a "screaming" momentum and a "sexy daze".

[5] The music video opens with various shots of the 1975 performing "Love Me" together, a woman dancing with a floating guitar and Healy singing in front of a troupe of women.

[54] Singing the lyrics "I'm just with my friends online", he gestures to cardboard cutouts of Harry Styles, Rita Ora, Miley Cyrus, Charli XCX, Ed Sheeran and Elvis Presley, among others.

[52][54] In their review of the music video, the editorial staff of Alternative Press said: "Funky jams and sex appeal are nothing new for the 1975, but the Manchester quartet's newest single and accompanying visuals take it to another level.

"[53] Hayden Manders of Nylon called the visual a "tongue-in-cheek, pink-hued commentary on what it means to be a rock-and-roll star in the digital age".

He viewed the video as an attack on pop culture and wrote that it carries the same messages as the song itself, saying: "It's a call to arms to question how our society's evolved into one that's suffering from glued-to-the-screen tunnel vision.

"[54] Shahlin Graves of Coup de Main called the visual a "scathing – and rather hilarious – mockery of fame in the Internet era and modern consumerist pop-culture".

[59] Murphy said the visual was evocative of "gloriously" obnoxious pop bands of the 1980s, deeming it a "heap of fun and will easily hold your attention for nearly four minutes".