A negative review came from Michael Endelman of "Entertainment Weekly" who gave the song a grading of C and wrote: "The sound of a woman scorned? Very mild, guessing from unmemorable kiss-off, 'Call Me When You're Sober'... Lee's latest pop-metal melodrama never lives up to the great title, as the melody hovers in a holding pattern." Andrew Blacki writing for "PopMatters" felt that the "'revenge song' 'Call Me When You’re Sober' reduces their dramatic image to a state of mope Kelly Clarkson breakup pop for mileage". Alex Nunn of musicOMH panned the song as "pretentious... elf indulgent to almost breaking point, the clichéd as hell lyrics and overly generic backing make for a shockingly horrid song" which according to him was due to Moody's absence of involvement in it. He finished off showing incredulity that the "angelic-vocalled woman" who wrote "My Immortal" could "churn out such dross as 'Call Me When You're Sober'". In another review, he said that "Call Me When You're Sober" hinted at the fact that Evanescence became "a mere shadow of the band they used to be". Jenni Cole of the same publication concluded that there was nothing to recommend about the song and added that it was a "disappointing return" for the band.