Writing for "The New York Times", Jon Pareles compared the album's concept to Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" (1973) and Guns N' Roses "Appetite for Destruction" (1987), referring to it as "a cause without a rebellion". However, Pareles commended its musicality and vocals, stating "he tone of the music is airless, sealing out imprecision and reveling in crisp, machine-generated rhythms; Ms. Jackson's piping voice, layered upon itself in punchy unisons or lavish harmonies, never cracks or falters." Robert Christgau wrote in his review for "The Village Voice", "Her voice is as unequal to her vaguely admonitory politics as it was to her declaration of sexual availability, but the music is the message."