AllMusic critic K. Ross Hoffman thought only a handful of the tracks are comparable to "the remarkably consistent quality" of the band's debut, Lesser Matters (2004), further elaborating: "It may be that they were just more interested in album-length ambience than stand-alone pop this time around—a couple of brief, spacy instrumentals seem to suggest as much.
ˈɔːl mjˈuːzɪk kɹˈɪɾɪk kˈeɪ. ɹˈɔs hˈɑːfmən θˈɔːt ˈoʊnli ɐ hˈændfəl ʌvðə tɹˈæks ɑːɹ kˈɑːmpɚɹəbəl tuː "ðə ɹᵻmˈɑːɹkəbli kənsˈɪstənt kwˈɔlᵻɾi" ʌvðə bˈændz deɪbjˈuː, lˈɛsɚ mˈæɾɚz tˈuː θˈaʊzənd fˈoːɹ, fˈɜːðɚɹ ᵻlˈæbɚɹˌeɪɾɪŋ: "ɪt mˈeɪ biː ðæt ðeɪ wɜː dʒˈʌst mˈoːɹ ˈɪntɹɛstᵻd ɪn ˈælbəmlˈɛŋθ ˈæmbiəns ðɐn stˈændɐlˈoʊn pˈɑːp ðɪs tˈaɪm ɚɹˈaʊnd—ɐ kˈʌpəl ʌv bɹˈiːf, spˈeɪsi ˌɪnstɹəmˈɛntəlz sˈiːm tə sədʒˈɛst æz mˈʌtʃ.