Upon its release, "Elephant" received widespread acclaim from music critics. The album enjoys a Metacritic rating of 92. The White Stripes were gaining momentum with their previous three albums and were generally lauded in critical circles, and many critics hailed "Elephant" as one of the defining events of the 2000s garage rock revival. "Uncut" magazine remarked that ""Elephant" is where the tabloid phenomenon of summer 2001 prove they are no flash in the pan by making a truly phenomenal record." David Fricke (with "Rolling Stone") called it "a work of pulverizing perfection," adding, "It will be one of the best things you hear all year" and Allmusic said the album "overflows with quality". Critics also commented on the development of the band. "NME" noted that "The eloquence, barbarism, tenderness and sweat-drenched vitality of "Elephant" make it the most realised White Stripes album yet." PopMatters said the album cemented "their evolution from Blind Willie McTell cover band with a pop sensibility to full-fledged, honest-to-goodness rock 'n' roll gods." Negative critique, though rare, was centered around the "gimmicks" that surround the music, most notably, the White Stripes' insistence on being called siblings. "So maybe it's time to drop the enigmatic charade," Lorraine Ali (with "Newsweek") pleaded, although she concluded, ""Elephant" still sounds great." Robert Christgau initially gave the album a three-star honorable mention () upon release, but later admitted that he had underrated it, and gave it a new grade of A-.