Up to Our Hips is a funk rock album that has retroactively been referred to as Britpop; Collins' bout in prison acted as lyric inspiration for frontman Tim Burgess, alongside Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967) by the Rolling Stones.

"Can't Get Out of Bed" and "I Never Want an Easy Life If Me and He Were Ever to Get There" reached the top 40 in the UK, while "Jesus Hairdo" sat outside this range.

[4] The band promoted the album with two tours of the United States, a stint in mainland Europe, and a short trek to Japan, running into September 1992.

[10] As the band wanted to avoid a situation similar to the making of Between 10th and 11th, where they felt forced to write and record tracks, any of the members were allowed to veto any suggestions for new material.

Burgess and guitarist Mark Collins wrote traditionally structured songs, while bassist Martin Blunt and drummer Jon Brookes opted for material that mixed dance, funk, and heavy rock.

[16] Demos were then recorded at Jacobs Studios in Farnham, Surrey; early versions of "Can't Get Out of Bed", "Feel Flows", and "I Never Want an Easy Life If Me and He Were Ever to Get There" were worked on here.

[13] The Charlatans toyed with the idea of enlisting Hugo Nicolson and DJ Andrew Weatherall from Junior Boy's Own as producers, both of whom had worked with Primal Scream.

[13][20] They played back the 20 demos they had to Hillage, who opined that the band was losing the original feeling for the songs and set about recording their live energy.

[22] The rest of the band thought Collins would face a severe reprimand, such as a suspended sentence and at least a hundred hours of community service.

[21] The trial recommenced on 20 September 1993, with the judge giving Whitehouse and Collins a custodial sentence; the former received four years while the latter got eight months and was sent to Shrewsbury Prison.

[26] Blunt had a keyboardist, known only as Nigel, contribute to "Feel Flows"; Burgess estimated that the remaining six songs had keyboard parts from Rob Collins.

[19] Author Dominic Wills in The Charlatans: The Authorised History (1999) said Blunt had doubts about the album's sound during this process, noting the use of drugs taking place, "believ[ing] this had [...] reduced its sense of urgency".

[36] Steve Taylor, in his book The A to X of Alternative Music (2006), invoked this comparison in regards to Up to Our Hips, saying Burgess' vocals sat between the likes of Bob Dylan and Gallagher.

[44] Burgess said the making of the album reminded him of Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967) by the Rolling Stones, which saw members of that band go in and out of court for drug busts.

[46] Discussing the pop rock track "Can't Get Out of Bed", Burgess said he wrote from the perspective of Collins and what was going through his head during the robbery.

[55] "Another Rider Up in Flames", which was originally titled "Set Your Hair on Fire", is the first piece of music that Burgess wrote, co-writing it with Mark Collins.

"[58] "Can't Get Out of Bed" was released as the lead single from Up to Our Hips on 24 January 1994 through Beggars Banquet Records, with "Withdrawn" and "Out" as its B-sides.

[64] Coinciding with this, the band played a BBC Radio 1 session for DJ Mark Radcliffe, performing "Jesus Hairdo", "Autograph", "I Never Want an Easy Life If Me and He Were Ever to Get There", and "Feel Flows".

[65] The band then performed another BBC Radio 1 session, this time for DJs Steve Lamacq and Jo Whiley, playing "I Never Want an Easy Life If Me and He Were Ever to Get There", "Another Rider Up in Flames" and "Up to Our Hips".

[74] The band played one-off shows at the Trentham Gardens in Stoke-on-Trent and at the Sound City festival in Glasgow, prior to a tour of the US.

Because of Collins' criminal record, the band was worried that he might be denied entry into the country and toyed with the idea of drafting James Taylor, formerly of the Prisoners.

Their month-long US trek began on 16 April 1994, having previously declined invitations to tour with the Lemonheads, the Cranberries, and INXS, the last of which annoyed Atlantic Records.

[72] The label had difficulty selling the album to the US market, despite getting the band a special on MTV and an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

[79] "I Never Want an Easy Life If Me and He Were Ever to Get There", "Can't Get Out of Bed", and "Jesus Hairdo" were included on the band's first compilation album, Melting Pot (1998).

"[71] Vox writer Craig McLean felt that the band "mooch through an album that is almost totally bereft of colour and spirit", adding that the music seems "lost in a sludge of muted guitars and wobbling bass and organ doodles".

[52] Doug Brod and Ira Robbins of Trouser Press felt that the album "yielded lackluster results" with its "sluggish tempos and a general lack of dynamic juice".

[58] Louder's Stephen Hill called it a "deeply unfocused and rambling set of psych-rock bumbling, saved by the excellently summery "Can't Get Out of Bed".

"[84] Consumable Online editor Bob Gajarsky added to this, stating that it was a return to their earlier sound, heard on their debut studio album Some Friendly (1990).

[91] Author Dave Thompson, in his book Alternative Rock (2000), wrote that Hillage's work "does lose some mystery with the cobwebs, but the songs stand up regardless.

"[85] In comparing the trajectory of the Charlatans with Beastie Boys, Robb said Up to Our Hips and the latter's Paul's Boutique (1989) were both "flawed masterpieces but had set the groups up for critical and commercial success" with their later releases.