The song's piano house production contains a piano-driven melody and synth drums, accompanied by lyrics performed in an Auto-Tuned style that detail a romance formed at a party.

The animated visual features No Rome, Charli XCX and Healy as cartoon characters travelling through various locations, including outer space and the deep sea.

Following the release of the 1975's second studio album I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It (2016), lead singer Matty Healy developed a working relationship with Filipino musician No Rome.

After Healy flew No Rome, who he described as "a bit of a muse of [his]", to the UK and signed him to the label Dirty Hit, the pair began working together on the band's upcoming album with drummer and producer George Daniel.

Describing herself as "such a fan of [Healy] and [the 1975]", the musician noted that their passion for pop music, "energy and ... uniqueness" inspired her, while adding she "really admire[s] [the band's] song writing".

[1] Healy, Daniel and Charli XCX were able to work on the song while touring Australia and New Zealand as part of the 2020 St Jerome's Laneway Festival, recording vocals for it in Sydney.

[27][28] The song details a romance formed with a fellow party-goer, as Charli XCX sings: "Found you at four in the morning / Confidence soaring / Thought you moved onto a new thing / But you keep it revolving.

[25] Contrasting this opinion, Caitlin White of Uproxx felt it is more similar to Charli XCX's discography, although she recognised that the song's "more pure pop elements" invoke the band's earlier work.

[20] Jolley wrote the track is the "music[al] equivalent of a dizzy headrush", opining that its release during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic delivers "a nostalgic sense of longing for those times when you'd lose yourself – and your friends – on a wild night out".

[32] The artwork features live animated characters of No Rome, Charli XCX and Healy against a kaleidoscopic and psychedelic background, which Ben Jolley of Dummy Mag compared to "choose-your-fighter" action figures.

They partnered with NFT platform Foundation to auction their artwork off to a charity of their choice: No Rome's portion of the profits will go to Right Start, Charli XCX's to Girls Make Beats and the 1975's to One Tree Planted.

[36] Writing for The Fader, Jordan Darville also praised Charli XCX's contribution and hailed her as the song's "conductor", while highlighting the composition of "Spinning" for maintaining "the energy of an amazing party's peak for its entire runtime".

[37] In his review of the song, DeVille described it as a "gorgeous blur" and praised the performances of Healy and Charli XCX but had trouble identifying No Rome's vocals.

[25] The editorial staff of the Manila Standard deemed the track "pure, joyful, escapist pop" and wrote that it serves as a testament to No Rome's "inimitable talent and endless musical ability".

[26] Deeming "Spinning" one of the week's best releases for The Guardian, Jenessa Williams lauded the song's "[19]90s school disco fun" and wrote: "It's nobody’s creative peak, but is a welcome mid-era bop from all three [artists].

[24] BrooklynVegan's Amanda Hatfield called "Spinning" an "exuberantly auto-tuned, poppy romp",[28] while Stephen Ackroyd of Dork labelled the song "a pure slice of infectious mega-pop" and noted the mixture of influences from each of the collaborators.

[46][47] No Rome uploaded clips from the music video on Instagram on the same day, including a photo of all three artists against a "mesmerizing" background, while Healy posted a solo shot of himself wearing headphones and a hornlike hat.

[19][49] Joining the cartoon characters of Charli XCX and Healy, the trio adventure through the deep sea in submarines, float around in outer space, smoke joints and eat ice cream.

[50] To further promote "Spinning", the artists released new merchandise, including a colouring book illustrated by Tanaka with scenes from and inspired by the music video, as well as a 7-inch vinyl, a tie-dye t-shirt and a long sleeve shirt.