Music critic John Bush wrote "of the songs are enjoyable enough, but the last three tracks are what make "Surf's Up" such a masterpiece." "Mojo" critic Ross Bennett regarded "Surf's Up" as "the definitive version" of the "Smile" recordings, "with those crystalline vocals imbuing Parks' cryptic verses with a grace and simplicity missing from the 2004 reboot". Keith Phipps from "The A.V. Club" called it "the darkest album of the group's career, a record that also spotlighted a growing social conscience".