Critic Toby Creswell described "Circus Animals" as, "a really extraordinary piece of work, as though John Steinbeck, Henry Lawson, Manning Clarke and Jerry Lee Lewis formed a band." He went on to single out "Wild Colonial Boy", "because it so brilliantly encapsulated the Australian experience," and "Houndog", "because it has a completely mad structure but it too goes to the heart of the Australian wanderlust." Roadrunner claimed the band, "revel in their Australianness, and seem to capture a lot of the hard edge of this country."