Sheezus features production from longtime collaborator Greg Kurstin, along with the likes of Shellback, DJ Dahi and Fraser T. Smith.

Allen and Amy Winehouse were credited with starting a process that led to the media-proclaimed "year of the women" in 2009 that saw five female artists making music of "experimentalism and fearlessness" nominated for the Mercury Prize.

The following year, she opened a fashion rental shop named Lucy in Disguise with her sister Sarah,[4] followed by the 2011 launching of her own record label.

"[7] In February 2013, she performed live at a Paris fashion show produced by Mark Ronson in what she called her "mumback", and foreshadowed the release of a new album "inspired by her experiences of motherhood" by the end of 2013.

[14] Sheezus was predominantly produced by longtime collaborator Greg Kurstin, with whom Allen had worked on her first and second studio albums.

[17] The album's opening track "Sheezus" is a "sarcastic pop" song, containing "anti-pop" lyrics that namecheck artists such as Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Beyoncé and Lorde.

"[16] The track namechecks models Cara Delevingne and Jourdan Dunn, as well as singer Rita Ora;[23] Allen stated that the song is "not about them, it's about the idea of them—how the media perceive them.

[16] On "Silver Spoon", Allen lambasts all the critics who continually attribute her success to her privileged upbringing, echoing the "snarky charm" of her previous albums, Alright, Still and It's Not Me, It's You.

[29] The song's accompanying music video was a subject of controversy, with Allen accused of being racist for its use of mostly black dancers in an allegedly "disapproving" manner.

Allen responded that ethnicity was not a factor in hiring the dancers, and the video was a light-hearted satirical look at objectification of women in modern pop music.

[47] On 14 November 2013, Allen made her debut live performance of "Hard Out Here" in the YoYos pod at the Red Bull Revolutions in Sound event on the London Eye.

[45] On 24 May 2014, Allen performed "Sheezus", "Hard Out Here", "URL Badman" and "Our Time" as part of her set at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Glasgow.

[52] In his review for The Guardian, journalist Alexis Petridis said Allen seems timid lyrically and musically inconsistent on an album that is "far from terrible – indeed, in parts it's very sharp".

[55] NME magazine's Laura Snapes was more critical and derided the lyrics as egotistical, clichéd, lacking conviction, and plagued by "empty grandstanding, trying to say something about female oppression, but not knowing quite what".

[57] Stephen Thomas Erlewine, writing for AllMusic, felt only "Life for Me", "Insincerely Yours", and "URL Badman" showcase Allen's usually sharp songwriting, as "many of these songs falter on their specificity; she's traded incisive commentary for pedantic details paired with music that winds up diminished by her weariness.

"[2] Stephanie Benson of Spin believed Allen's message in her lyrics about marriage and womanhood are inconsistent with the party themes on other songs: "Her attempt at convincing us she's a loving wife and mother of two, a savvy feminist, and a satirical mastermind mostly comes off as disingenuous.

"[61] Andy Gill of The Independent found both the music and themes diverse, which he felt "clinches the album's success, confirming that this is an artist with taste and opinions of her own, not just a schedule and a fanbase to satisfy".

[56] Robert Christgau was impressed by how melodic some of the songs are and Allen's take on marriage in her lyrics, writing in his review for Cuepoint: "Even when that bliss devolves into a painful argument, she can put it into song, and though the bite that was her premarital specialty has softened, give her credit—marital bliss is a theme few lyricists sharpen much at all.