Richards' passion for poetry and literary studies again stood out on "Strange Bird". John D. Luerssen of "Rolling Stone" said "poetry aficionado Richards puts his own literary stamp" on the album, and James Christopher Monger of Allmusic said the album contained "pastoral beauty, labyrinthine arrangements, and breathtaking prose". Pitchfork Media's Joe Tangari described the album as "so stuffed with ideas and instruments that it's wont to rupture from time to time". This was both a positive and negative criticism; Tangari complained that at times "there is a surplus of sound", but also said that the combination of the first two tracks—"The Vineyard" ("slow beauty") and "This Train Will Be Taking No Passengers" ("a wailing rockabilly psych raver")—was an excellent set-up. Derek Miller of Stylus Magazine called the opening trio—the third song being the "simple acoustic guitar and arcing piano" of "Little Wonder"—bewildering, and that the album remained consistently as such throughout. PopMatters' Zeth Lundy described Richards' wordplay as frenzied, and said the "refined, worldly wit" on "Strange Bird" was striking.