"Debut" draws on an eclectic variety of sources. "Treblezine" described the album as "alternative dance and electronic with a graceful flow." It is said that the album "[shook the status quo" of the contemporary musical climate, in the sense that its eclectic experimental pop leanings distanced it from the music "primarily being made by men with guitars" that was popular at the time, such as grunge and the burgeoning britpop. Michael Cragg of "The Guardian" described it as an "indefinable conflation of electronic pop, trip-hop, world music and otherworldly lyrics". AllMusic described the album as "creative, tantalizing electronic pop." "The New York Times" wrote that ""Debut" often recalls the early '70s jazz-fusion of bands like Weather Report. But where these fusionists combined jazz harmony with funk and acid rock, Björk marries her scat-vocalese and off-kilter melodies with the futuristic textures and programmed percussion of today's techno and acid house. "The Face"s Mandi James felt "Debut" was "a delightful fusion of thrash metal, jazz, funk and opera, with the odd dash of exotica thrown in for good measure." "Billboard" described the album as "an art pop masterpiece". Björk also took influence from the music of Bollywood and "the buzz of London nightlife."