Dead Air was recorded at Sound Impressions in Milwaukie, Oregon, and mixed at Whitehorse Studios in Portland, Oregon. According to Tony Lash, the Dead Air versions of "Bottle Rocket" and "Lowlife" reuse the basic tracks from their Music of Heatmiser EP demo counterparts, but feature new vocal and guitar overdubs.
Trouser Press wrote, "Dead Air is laced with hints of Fugazi, Hüsker Dü, and Helmet, although the record is not nearly as distinctive as any of those bands", describing it as "a textbook example of the strengths and weaknesses of early '90s indie hard rock. Particularly on 'Stray', 'Still' and 'Lowlife', the energy and urgency are enough to rescue the music from the merely generic. But just barely."[6]The Rocket praised the "heavier ... bigger riffs" and "great hooks", noting that "happily there is no sense that [Heatmiser] is trying to recreate the sound of any specific era or band."[7]
