Songfacts®:

• This was one of the last songs to be recorded for Visions of a Life. Frontwoman Ellie Rowsell recalled to Consequence of Sound:
  
  "We wanted to keep it very close to the original home demo, so we weren't too worried about it. I recorded the guitar outside in our engineer's garden, which felt apt as I sometimes imagine an old Disney princess singing this song, like Snow White or something.
  
  Much like 'Planet Hunter', the lyrics are kind of about going through some sort of change and in this one I begin to see the change as positive. I didn't think much about the words nor the music as I wrote this but rather let it pour out of me like a vomit of emotion.
  
  Most of the other instrumentation was also done on the mellotron and vocals were recorded through an amp in a shed at the back of the garden with Mike the other engineer, who was very patient with me as I was quite particular with how I wanted them to sound."
• Ellie Rowsell commented to Q Magazine "There's something sexual about 'After the Zero Hour.' It's about a next step, breaking through one feeling and into another."