dʒˈɑːnəθən kˈiːf, ɹˈaɪɾɪŋ fɔːɹ slˈænt mˌæɡɐzˈiːn, kˈɔːld ðɪ ˈælbəm "ˈɛndləsli fˈæsᵻnˌeɪɾɪŋ" bˌʌt kəŋklˈuːdᵻd ðˈæt "ˈiːvən ˈɑːɹmd wɪð ɐ tʃˈiːt ʃˈiːt fɹʌm wˌɪkipˈiːdiə ænd ɐ dɪzˈaɪɚ tə fˈɪɡjɚɹ ˈaʊt ðə sɪɡnˈɪfɪkəns ʌv ˈɛvɹi lˈæst hˈɛɹ klˈɪpɚ ænd ɡˈʌnʃɑːt, ðɪ ˈælbəm nˈɛvɚɹ ɛŋɡˈeɪdʒᵻz æz ˈɛnɪθˌɪŋ mˈoːɹ ðˌænən ˌækədˈɛmɪk ˈɛksɚsˌaɪz.
Jonathan Keefe, writing for Slant Magazine, called the album "endlessly fascinating" but concluded that "even armed with a cheat sheet from Wikipedia and a desire to figure out the significance of every last hair clipper and gunshot, the album never engages as anything more than an academic exercise.