"AllMusic"'s Matt Collar rated "Switch" three stars out of five. He began the review negatively, with the claim "For all intents and purposes, the death of Australian rock band INXS' lead singer, Michael Hutchence, in 1997 ended the band's career." He argued that without Hutchence, there was little point in the band continuing, and criticised their use of "Rockstar: INXS", arguing "all the band was looking for was a relatively good-looking, relatively tuneful young man who could evince some cocksure rock smarminess." Describing Hutchence as the best part of the old INXS, Collar argued that "Switch" could never equal its predecessors, but nonetheless noted some quality work—Fortune's lyrics on "Devil's Party" and "Afterglow" were approved of, though his vocals, Collar argued, could nowhere near match the original. Fortune's role as a "Sex God" was criticised, especially on "the icky and somewhat offensive 'Hot Girls.'" Collar concluded that the band had acknowledged they would never equal their success with Hutchence, and that "one's interest in Switch largely depends on the listener's ability to come to that same conclusion."