After the success of The Fury of The Aquabats!, Floating Eye found the band moving away from the ska-influenced sound of their previous albums and into more diverse and experimental musical textures.

A commercial disappointment upon release, The Aquabats were dropped from Goldenvoice the following year, leading to a lengthy semi-hiatus from touring and recording until the band's 2005 comeback album Charge!!

With the near-complete lack of The Aquabats' formerly marketable ska sound, Goldenvoice Records expressed mixed feelings over Floating Eye, reportedly telling the band that the album had no satisfactory single and would be difficult to promote.

[2] In a 2005 interview, bassist Chad Larson retrospectively agreed with this assessment on the album's lack of a commercial sound, noting that while he felt the material was strong, it "probably wasn't the record we should have put out at that time".

"[6] Coupled with Goldenvoice's ongoing financial troubles at the time as a result of the first Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the disappointing sales of Floating Eye eventually contributed to The Aquabats' dismissal from the label in 2000, beginning an extended period of relative inactivity which would last the band throughout the early 2000s until they would independently return to recording in 2004, with the EP Yo!