Produced by Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie, Mad Love was composed of four tracks—including a rerecording of "Thoughtforms", a song from Lush's debut mini-album Scar (1989).

In contrast to Scar, Mad Love features more polished production techniques and expansive music styles, including elements of jangle pop, post-punk and shoegazing.

[1] In addition, the EP features heavily treated layers of texturised guitars, processed with various effects units.

[4] The overall sound of Mad Love drew comparisons to the jangle pop stylings of REM and indie pop band Marine Girls,[5] but several critics noted that Lush's post-punk roots were still present on the EP,[6] partially due to several songs' shifting time signatures.

[1] Several elements of dream pop are also discernible on Mad Love, such as vocal tracks deliberately placed low in the mix and indecipherable lyrics, which Berenyi said "exist in a vacuum" to avoid misinterpretation.

Bassist Steve Rippon considered it a "heavy metal title … like Led Zeppelin", while Berenyi said it was reminiscent of the 1987 film Crazy Love.

[1] Mad Love's packaging was designed by Vaughan Oliver, with assistance from Chris Bigg, and features photography by Jim Friedman.

[11] In the United States, "De-Luxe" was released as a promotional-only radio single on Reprise Records,[12] and the song peaked at No.