In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called "Urban Hymns" "a rich album that revitalizes rock traditions without ever seeming less than contemporary", further crediting it as the album that The Verve had "been striving to make since their formation." BBC Music critic Wendy Roby wrote in 2010 that "Urban Hymns" "still sounds thrilling" and "soars with autumnal melancholy", crediting the album's mix of "massive, sweeping" arrangements and Ashcroft's "heartbreaking" lyrics as its key characteristics. "Uncut" wrote that "the most striking qualities of "Urban Hymns" now are its musical coherence and the powerfully sustained mood of melancholic stoicism." On the other hand, Emily Tartanella of "Magnet" felt that "Urban Hymns" was undeserving of its accolades, calling it "one of the most bloated, boring and overpraised albums of the '90s."