Michael O'Brien of "PopMatters", on the other hand, was less positive about the album's new sound, writing, "For anyone who loved "Emergency & I", or any of The Dismemberment Plan's other two records, "Change" sounds like The Dismemberment Plan on Quaaludes." O'Brien also called the album "an enjoyable record, a necessary record in the evolution of the band, but far from an essential listen." Robert Christgau of "The Village Voice" gave the album a three-star honorable mention rating, indicating "an enjoyable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well treasure."