It was recorded with an expanded line-up, and is generally considered to be the band's noisiest release due to its emphasis on distorted guitars and keyboard sounds.

Shortly before the release of Transient Random-Noise Bursts, Stereolab re-recorded the song "Pack Yr Romantic Mind" to remove a sample from George Harrison's Wonderwall Music that they were denied clearance to use.

[19] The majority of the first 1,500 LP copies of Transient Random-Noise Bursts were destroyed due to bad pressing quality.

[15] On its release, Transient Random-Noise Bursts peaked at number 62 on the UK Albums Chart.

[21] A remastered and expanded edition of Transient Random-Noise Bursts was released by Duophonic and Warp on 3 May 2019.