Strange Times was met with largely positive reviews, with Post-Punk.com calling the album one of 100 essential dream pop releases and stating, "the Manchester quartet's third record is arguably their dreamiest, trading in much of their early angst while swinging for the fences with a tremendous collection of songs.

According to Chameleons frontman Mark Burgess, "The album was recorded at Jacob's Studio in Surrey, south of London over a period of five weeks.

A promotional-only 12" vinyl single was also issued in 1986, featuring album opener "Mad Jack" on the A-side and "Time/The End of Time" and the band's cover of the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" on the B-side.

Ian Gittins of Melody Maker called it "a marvellous departure" from their previous work and "a wonderful record.

Personally, I believe it was the best lyrical work I'd done with the band and some of the best vocal performances, and I think the Chameleons really began to mature and move forward with this album.

[3] In a post on his Instagram account on 22 March 2018, Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher cited Strange Times as an early influence on his songwriting: "...I'd forgotten how much this album meant to me.