Helen Lear from "The Music" wrote that "Strangeland" "will still sound to some like middle-of-the-road indie-pop" and "pretty much what you would expect from Keane", but "the tempo is noticeably more upbeat and the style more diverse than previous albums" and "offers some more fun in a grown-up style that may attract new fans to take a listen." Chris Roberts of the BBC criticised "Strangeland" as "an unabashed scurry back to the comfort zone", and that "Keane lack blood, guts and muscle", with the album ultimately classed as "a somewhat saddening step backwards." John Murphy of musicOMH rated the album two stars out of five, where "melodies are stodgy and predictable", with "a whole bucket of cliches piled in", calling "Strangeland" "proof positive that playing it safe is not always the best option." Ian Gittins of Virgin Media felt the album was "major musical step back from the wilful experimentalism of "Perfect Symmetry", a record that saw Keane hiring dance producer Stuart Price and leaping far out of their comfort zone", commenting that the album "finds them fairly back in the middle of the road".