The album continued the new wave sound of the band's previous release, Anthem, taking it into a darker, almost gothic direction.

Original vinyl issues of the album came complete with a lyric insert, the background of which featured drawings of circuit boards.

(...) I was coming into the studio in very dark moods and incredibly emotional and I cried my way through that album, but in retrospect I think that it's quite a remarkable record".

"What they used to do was strip off naked, they would paint themselves completely blue, (...) and they would have belts around their waists with the severed heads of their enemies on.

[10] "Angel & Me" was influenced by seeing Jacob Epstein's sculpture The Archangel Lucifer in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

I always die to see you smile", Toyah revealed that the person she is talking to is her mother: "I was in hospital and my mum visited me, she'd always start crying.

(...) It's often said within the deep, old, medieval scriptures of Wicca and witchcraft that when the end of the world comes you will see twin suns.

[9] Though unattributed in the credits of any release, "The Packt's" chorus lyrics: derive from "Cassilda’s Song" featured in the fictional play, “The King in Yellow”, invented by American writer Robert W. Chambers in his 1895 book of the same name: Discussing "Life in the Trees", Toyah said that she "wanted to write a song about the fact that nature is the all-seeing, all-controlling organism, (...) has the power to completely control and reinvent new species.

[14] The singer explained that the closing track "Brave New World" "is a sad love song, because I wrote most of it (...) after a tremendous row with my boyfriend.

One of the bonus tracks was a completed out-take from the recording sessions named "Warrior Rock" which had also appeared as the B-side of the single "Brave New World".

A rarer version entitled "Silly Little Girls" using a similar music track but with alternative lyrics (featuring Toyah Willcox improvising 'mild obscenities'), appeared on preparatory demos for the album which have since surfaced on bootleg releases.

In September 2023, The Changeling was re-issued by Cherry Red Records in an expanded 2 CD+DVD package, with previously unreleased demo versions.

After the song has faded out, the original vinyl version featured an echoed drum roll that resembled the sound of a door being locked – this is absent on the 1999 CD edition, but was restored on the subsequent pressing.