which he wrote "strays from the intersection of punk and pop where XTC are most at home". Jeff Tamarkin of CMJ New Music Report described the album as a refinement on Drums and Wires with "superb production, musicianship and writing", although he expressed disappointment towards the lack of Moulding songs. He predicted the band would "find itself with an even wider audience, because there's plenty here to satisfy even the most timid radio programmer and borderline rock dance club DJ." According to biographer Chris Twomey, detractors of the record thought that its "complex musical nuts and bolts [were] too arty or too clever for their own good." Michael Kremen of The Michigan Daily reviewed that the songs "no longer sound fresh. I hear too many bits and pieces from their previous records as well as a lots of White Album and Abbey Road-era Beatles stuff. Perhaps, having influenced lots of bands over the last three years, that which once seemed unique in XTC is now fairly common." Retrospective The Chicago Tribunes Greg Kot said the album marked "the end of an era with an exclamation point. From here on out, the band`s writing would become even more complex and personalized." AllMusic's Chris Woodstra called it XTC's most consistent album yet, both in terms of its full arrangements and unsubtle political commentary. Oregano Rathbone of Record Collector wrote that Black Sea was arguably "the sweet spot in XTC's imperial phase as a perma-touring four-piece experimental pop group." David Sinclair, in an overview of XTC's early albums for Q, determined that the arrangements of Black Sea, while complex, were much cleaner than earlier arrangements, such as those found on their debut, White Music. In 1996, critic Jack Rabid praised the "sardonic crack" of "Respectable Street" and wrote "am I the only one who's noticed that super-fans Blur have ripped this song off three times already???!!!!" Writing for Pitchfork, Chris Dahlen highlights "Sgt. Rock" ("... will never vacate your brain"), "Rocket From a Bottle" ("one of their most jet-fueled songs"), and "Travels in Nihilon" ("one of their strangest"). He also appreciated the placement of the bonus tracks on the 2001 CD reissue, following the original track listing of the album. Previous reissues placed the tracks in the middle of the album, interrupting the "flow". Robert Christgau was impressed by the album's pacing and eclecticism, despite delving into excessively "embellishing herkyjerk whozis" and over-intellect.