Many critics noted that "Howl" took a different direction from earlier BRMC releases. Critics were generally polarised with the album. While most agreed that their 2001 debut was the better of the first two records, and the follow-up had been rushed and lacklustre, opinion of the third offering was not so unified. Many critics saw the album as an innovative departure from the band's homeground, and the record that affirmed them as the "Kings of Cool" once again, while others professed the record dull, and a last-minute attempt at restoring a flagging career by an album of acoustic tracks that should have ended up as b-sides.