It was originally released as a limited edition promotional cassette by All My Eye and Betty Martin Music in 1992 and was reissued on CD via Cardiacs' label the Alphabet Business Concern in 1995.

[4] Taking a different musical approach to the prog-punk japery of Cardiacs material, less time signature changes and more conventional song structures were used,[10] offering a gentler side of Tim Smith's creative output.

[11] Music critics have compared the album to the whimsy of the Dukes of Stratosphear,[3] the psychedelic folk of the Incredible String Band and the work of classical English composer Ralph Vaughn Williams,[5][12] as well as the second side of Popol Vuh's In den Gärten Pharaos,[2] "The Spirit Spout" has a percussive opening which settles into a sparser, hymn-like tone, and "Nil in the Nest" features oom-pah brass with an ascending guitar and church organ.

[2] "Dog Eat Spine" is a surreal track with scampering piano mimicking the movement of small canine legs, and "Sarah on a Worm" resembles a curio music box melody.

[15] After "Christ Alive" appeared on the Cardiacs anthology Sampler,[14] the Alphabet Business Concern saved the tape copies of The Sea Nymphs from disintegration by releasing it on CD in 1995,[16][17] allowing it for sale to the band's grateful fanbase.