Verve Records released the album on 16 September 1991. No official singles or music videos were released to promote the album. Nonetheless, a limited edition box set entitled "After the Flood / New Grass / Ascension Day" was released in France, containing the aforementioned three songs from the album, with the former edited down as an "outtake", and two unreleased B-sides ("Stump", "5:09"). In the United States, a recording of an interview with Mark Hollis entitled "Mark Hollis Talks About Laughing Stock" was distributed on cassette. Despite the lack of traditional promotion, the album reached number 26 on the UK Album Chart, and stayed on the chart for two weeks.