Obscured by Clouds is among Pink Floyd's shorter albums and makes heavy use of the acoustic guitar. Lyrically, the songs centre around love, a theme the album has in common with the film. The album's only single was "Free Four". Obscured by Clouds has been seen as a stopgap for the band, who had started work on their next album, The Dark Side of the Moon (1973). The album reached number six in the United Kingdom and number 46 in the United States; retrospective opinions from both fans and critics have been mixed, some critics noting the similarities to their later material.

As with several previous albums, the cover was designed by Hipgnosis, and has been explained by its creator Storm Thorgerson – who was unhappy with the final result – to be an ear underwater. The album was well received by critics upon its release, and was commercially successful in the United Kingdom, but lacklustre publicity on the part of the band's American label Capitol Records led to poor sales in the US upon initial release.