Spencer Owen, writing for Pitchfork Media, felt that this album "represents a venture into actual melody, at least more so than they've attempted before", likening the result to a "malfunctioning machine that suddenly becomes aware of its existence.

"[1] Tiny Mixtapes' Tamec explained that the "closest comparison for this music is an arrhythmic Don Caballero with someone moaning and gasping over top of it.".

[4] In an article with Pulse Of The Twin Cities on the supporting tour of Acre Thrills, Johnson was keen to underline the fact that U.S Maple do indeed orchestrate, as opposed to spontaneously improvising, their songs.

[5] Fakejazz gave the record full marks, John Fail commenting "can't think of another band today that is really progressing as much from where Beefheart began 30 years ago.

Maple have finally reached brilliance with Acre Thrills, a gorgeously dangerous combination of everything they've seemed to strive for that now makes them imperfectly perfect.