The Austin Chronicle opined that Ocasek "takes Richman and drummer Tommy Larkins' two-man-band simplicity and augments it with just the right amount of bass and light keyboards."[3]Entertainment Weekly thought that "for the first time in years, he's shed his grating penchant for writing soft-headed novelty songs in favor of ... grown-up, gently amusing tales that plumb love’s sweet mysteries."[4]Spin concluded that "there's something sad and epic and beautiful about spending a lifetime trying to figure out what it means to be a teen."[9]
AllMusic wrote that Richman's "charming nasal voice seems to have all but disappeared; it's been replaced with a sort of arty croon, as on the title cut and the dour 'Affection'."[2]
