"Ya Hey" received very positive reviews from critics. Ian Cohen of Pitchfork described the song as "a staggering duality of childish innocence and poetic confidence" and an "impossibly catchy song that skips along while carrying the weight of the universe," and awarded it Best New Track.[2] Robert Leedham of Drowned in Sound praised the new directness of the lyrics compared to Vampire Weekend's earlier songs, saying, "Rather than dropping oblique reference points at every turn, Koenig adopts a magnificently blasphemous posture from start to finish." Musically, Leedham described the song as a "euphoric cocktail" and praised its "righteous swirl of drums, bass, plaintive piano, shrill vocoder and gospel chanting."[3] Pretty Much Amazing also compared the song favorably to the band's earlier work, arguing that, "unlike the absurdly catchy, frivolous 'ay ay ay's of "A-Punk", the 'ya-heys' of 'Ya Hey' are filled with meaning," and called the song "a brilliant stomp-along anthem."[4]The A.V. Club called "Ya Hey" "not the album's strongest song, but the one probably most destined to be talked about...In a way, "Ya Hey" feels like a bridge for whatever might be coming next for Vampire Weekend."[5]