The album was warmly received by most American critics. Robert Christgau called it a "surprisingly well-crafted coming out. More popwise and also more literary than the Smiths at a comparable stage, Suede's collective genderfuck projects a joyful defiance so rock and roll it obliterates all niggles about literal truth." In his review for "The Baltimore Sun", J. D. Considine felt that Suede had lived up to the hype they had received in the UK. He added: "the group's greatest strengths are strictly melodic, thanks to the consistently tuneful interplay between Brett Anderson's voice and Bernard Butler's guitar. As such, it's impossible to come away from the album without humming snatches of the slow-and-dreamy 'Sleeping Pills,' the dark, punchy 'The Drowners,' or the intoxicatingly catchy 'Animal Nitrate'." David Fricke of "Rolling Stone" gave a very positive review, saying: "Suede the band and Suede the record are more than the sum of their brilliantly packaged designer hauteur. There is an undercurrent of doomsday urgency in Anderson's feigned languor, tartly echoed in Bernard Butler's corrosive guitar work." He wrote a very positive assessment of most tracks on the album, with one exception: "there are two 'Animal' songs on the album, of which 'Animal Lover' is one too many." In conclusion, he said: "No matter; they've made the best of this one." In a more mixed review, Lorraine Ali of the "Los Angeles Times" felt the band "do their best to alienate the common listener." She wrote: "When not pretending to be superhuman, Suede churns out strong songs--a couple of fun, post-punk, power-pop tunes among them. But mostly the band oozes alluring, tousled and sexy songs over sometimes steamy lyrics or weaves sad and opiated melodies around Anderson’s shooting highs and desperate lows."