Head Full of Ideas (2021). Reception Up at the Lake was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 72, based on ten reviews. Reviewers praised the songwriting. Damas felt that there was a "defined sense that this is the beginning of a new chapter for the band, and that Up at the Lake is their first work as 'mature' artists". He added that was "relaxed and assured [...] the work of craftsmen who know how to produce something solid and consistent". Goldstein said it was "surprisingly their strongest effort" since Tellin' Stories, agreeing with Damas that they "actually sound[ed] relaxed", making it the type of album that the band could compose in their sleep. The Independent critic Any Gill also was impressed, saying that the "simple and direct Up at the Lake is a surprise", adding that it was the "most focused, coherent and unmediated that the band have sounded in years". Steve McQueen of Gigwise called it "soothingly British, with authentic flavourings throughout. Like an English summer’s day – you cannot take this for granted". Chris Nye Browne of Yahoo! Launch said that "although, essentially, there’s nothing exceptional here, as an album 'Up At The Lake' flows seamlessly". Other critics felt that it was uninspiring. Entertainment.ie Andrew Lynch wrote that "while it doesn't break any new ground, it's just as enjoyable" as their past releases. The staff at Uncut said it was "hardly the album-length E-rush of career peak" Tellin' Stories, while Stephen Ackroyd of This Is Fake DIY said the band "could do worse, [or] could do a lot better". RTÉ.ie writer Seamus Leonard said "unfortunately the songs are pretty inconsistent," with "Cry Yourself to Sleep" and "I'll Sing a Hymn (You Came to Me)" were "well worth listening to, but [...] The rest are reasonable but unremarkable". God Is in the TV Alex Worsnip, meanwhile, thought they had "run their course at this stage, although they themselves seem positive about their direction [...] for the rest of us, 'Up At The Lake' will be both familiar and uninspiring". Playlouder writer Richard Smirke said the album "plays more like Burgess & Co hijacking Stars in Their Eyes, rather than a band trying to sound fresh or relevant [...] Unfortunately, as artistically redundant as that concept