It was recorded at Jingletown Studios from February 14 to June 26, 2012; however, it was also played at a secret show held by the band in 2011.

: "Let Yourself Go" and "Carpe Diem"[1][2] Erica Futterman of Rolling Stone praised the band's performance while also writing, "Other new music included the blistering Ramones-tinged 'Let Yourself Go' ('Shut your mouth 'cause you're talking too much and I don't give a fuck anyway'), the driving beat and sing-along chorus of 'Carpe Diem,' and the strut of 'Oh Love'".

[12] Bassist Mike Dirnt described the musical style of "Oh Love" by stating, "We were just thinking about making a killer power-pop record – dirtier, back to basics.

[8] David Fricke of Rolling Stone compared the song to the genre of The Who's Quadrophenia and the vocals of Armstrong in the start to those of John Lennon.

[13] Sarah Maloy of Billboard elaborated that the guitar instrumentation is simple and the tune is similar to the band's early releases.

[14] "Green Day" is written in pale yellow while "Oh Love" is in white against the blue background, which shows contrast between light-dark and light shades along with black in the corner.

[14] The band also announced release of an EP of the song and also showed its artwork,[15] which is similar with minor variations in color and images.

[15] "Green Day", in blue, and "Oh Love", in white, are written in capital letters on the left top and bottom respectively, against a striped red background with blackened corners.

David Fricke of Rolling Stone assigned the track four out of five stars, deeming it "just a bright, strident vocal and crisply strummed guitar.

But when Armstrong’s bandmates fall in around him, Green Day sound the way you originally loved ’em, and refreshed: heavier and hardened from their time in the trenches but back in the garage, ready for rapture".

He also added, "That's good news for Green Day fans and for those who miss rock music on Top 40 radio".

[17] However, the song did not receive an entirely positive response from NME, who stated, "That crunchy guitar riff, that meandering melody, that by-the-numbers solo – it all comes off rather ‘meh’, rather safe, and rather middle-ground to these ears".

[19] The song is the band's first and only the third ever to debut at number one on the chart, following Linkin Park's "The Catalyst" on August 21, 2010, and Foo Fighters' "Rope" on March 12, 2011.