Robert Christgau awarded the record an A- with his only criticism being "when the topics become darker and more cosmic ... they clutter things with sound and whimsy". Also from "Rolling Stone", Rob Tannenbaum's 1987 review said the album's craftsmanship was "a remarkable achievement", but decried: "This trading of the acute modernism that marked such classics as 'This Is Pop' and 'Making Plans for Nigel' for domestic solitude dampens the band's punk-roots energy and also limits its emotional spectrum. ... Partridge complains. But then he apologizes to his ex for being "rude" to her. Being rude is the "point" of breakup songs, and a shot of rudeness is just what XTC could use now."