One of the album's tracks, "(I Never Loved) Eva Braun", was described by one critic as "the happiest, cheeriest, best upbeat song about Hitler ever written.

"[citation needed] The lyrics of other songs discussed suicide ("Living in an Island") and euthanasia ("Can't Stop").

[2] The album's title was taken from a line in "She's So Modern": "And Charlie ain't no Nazi/ she likes to wear her leather boots/ 'cuz it's exciting for the veterans/ and it's a tonic for the troops."

Rolling Stone critic Tom Carson described A Tonic for the Troops as "an inventive and melodically forceful piece of work, glossily ingratiating all the way", but also found the band "far too impressed by their own wit to be particularly incisive or convincing musically.

"[4] The Globe and Mail noted that "A Tonic for the Troops isn't so much a rock and roll album as it is a hot scamper through a number of recently-molded styles, from Talking Heads to Elvis Costello.