Are We There of 86, based on 36 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". At "Rolling Stone", Will Hermes rated the album four stars out of five, remarking how Van Etten's "darkness contains multitudes" just as Nick Cave's does, and he states Van Etten's latest release is "magnificent... which grows her trademark examinations of romantic decay to cathedral-like scale." Fred Thomas of AllMusic rated the album four stars out of five, indicating how Van Etten "can deliver her songs with a powerful, borderless command." Due to its high rating of 86 on Metacritic, Are We There became the fifth most critically acclaimed album of 2014.
How Many Licks? VH1 wrote that the single and other tracks from "The Notorious K.I.M." have a "glossier and far more commercial" sound than the rapper's previous releases. The lyrics of "How Many Licks?" are part of a movement in 1990s hip hop music to express sexuality positively. Sexuality studies professor Thomas A. Foster wrote that Lil' Kim reverses a trend in hip hop music which objectifies women for the male gaze and celebrates male sexuality. Gender studies scholar Aine McGlynn described "How Many Licks?" as one of the most sexually-explicit songs to receive airplay. The lyrics describe a woman's interest in oral