J.D. Considine, reviewing in "The New Rolling Stone Album Guide", wrote that the album "isn't quite as cheerful, but despite its issue-oriented focus, Merchant and her never turn their songs into a bully pulpit". The staff of "People" praised the music of the album, especially Buck's guitar performance, but found it "monotonous" and further called "Jubilee" "a major downer". "The Village Voice" critic Robert Christgau acknowledged Merchant's "own prosaic prosody with off-kilter guitar accentuating its eccentric undertow", while he highlighted the album's second half of occasionally successful politics, "like when the lottery-playing mom of 'Dust Bowl' rubs her fevered youngest down with rubbing alcohol". However, he was resigned to report Merchant's inability to "listen to "common sense firm arguments' ", singling out "Hateful Hate" for how it "brushes by slavery on its way to and ends up condemning 'curiosity'—again and again".