"Smash Hits" awarded the album an 8 out of 10 rating and singled out tracks "New Beginning", "You and your Heart so Blue" and "I Hear Talk" as being particularly strong. Reviewer Tom Hibbert said that "music is awesomely brilliantly conceived pop music performed with relish", while the songs "are thoroughly ravishing, proper popular music". "Number One" magazine was impressed by the adult rock sound of many of the tracks, but feared that the album wouldn't stand up to repeated listenings. Nevertheless, they gave the album a 4 out of 5 rating, commenting that ""Writing On the Wall" sees the Fizzers moving ever further away from their light pop of old, a fair impression of American AOR rockers – in the most melodic way possible of course". The newly established "Q Magazine" rated the album 3 out of 5 and favoured the tracks "Keep Each Other Warm" and "The Company You Keep". On the re-issue in 2004, The "Daily Mirror" stated that though the album may not be cutting-edge, it had class, while "Music Week" labelled the album "a gem". Reviewing the 2012 re-release, Music News.com said the album saw the group lose their identity in a largely negative review. The album was rated two stars out of five but did compliment the group's performance, stating "The band themselves are in pretty good form and the performances are solid but subtleties are clobbered by the production".