In a positive review by AP, reviewer Paul J. Weber characterized the album as "wonderfully noisy and hooky, shimmering with guitar-pop accessibility". Steven Hyden of Pitchfork compared the album to "The Big Roar", stating, "If anything, Wolf's Law is a weirder, proggier record that explores a wider range of textures and sounds than the relatively monochromatic Roar". In a similar statement concerning the album's dynamics, Arnold Pan of Pop Matters commented, "The Joy Formidable proves on Wolf’s Law that it can create grandeur and awe by letting contrast and touch speak volumes more than overpowering brute force can". The lyrics on the album were also praised, with Noel Murray of "The A.V. Club" claiming that "...the most important trick that The Joy Formidable finesses is to take that sense of grandeur and apply it to today’s world, to ordinary people trying to cope with stress and loneliness".