The critical response to "Strange Bird", unlike its brief chart history, was overwhelmingly positive. The enthusiastic response even caught the band by surprise; Williams told "Rip It Up" "I could see a few holes in the album and I'd say, 'how come no one else has picked this up?'" Reviewers, however, focused on the positives; Guy Garvey of "The Independent" said "My favourite of the year is Augie March's "Strange Bird"", while David Fricke wrote in "Rolling Stone" of "luxuriant melees of chiming guitars, mountain-stream voices and keyboard grandeur". Donovan said the band found it hard to take the positive reviews too seriously; "if we did our heads would explode or overinflate", he told "Beat".