 The cover features a still from news footage of an American soldier smoking marijuana from the barrel of a shotgun while stationed in Vietnam during the Vietnam War, as portrayed in Ken Burns's documentary, "The Vietnam War".In 2018, "Pitchfork" listed "Clinging to a Scheme" at number 24 on its list of the 30 best dream pop albums.Credits for "Clinging to a Scheme" adapted from album liner notes.