"All I Need to Hear" received positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who praised song's understated, simplistic tone and the emotional vulnerability in the lyrics, with several deeming it a career highlight.

The black-and-white visual, shot in a documentary style, features Healy engaging in a monologue while wandering the gardens of Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire, England, before joining the remaining the 1975 members for a live performance of the song.

The singer explained to Curto that writing self-deprecating lyrics is akin to a stand-up comedian making a joke about their life, saying it was easier and offered protection, while presenting something honest and sincere was more difficult and requires vulnerability.

The singer noted that while both he and Simon were similarly verbose, the latter had managed to make "Still Crazy After All These Years" "really, really tight" and "lullaby-esque", which inspired him to create a song that would emulate the track's sincerity and earnestness.

The singer compared "All I Need to Hear" to the band's "I Couldn't Be More in Love" (2018), telling Zane Lowe of Apple Music 1 that he realised these songs could be performed better than he was capable of, saying he hoped that an artist like Adele or Joe Cocker would cover the track and create the "definitive" version.

[1][2][3] On 22 October 2021, Healy made a surprise guest appearance during the second night of Phoebe Bridgers' Reunion Tour in Los Angeles at the Greek Theatre.

[22] Described by Rhian Daly of NME as a "melancholy waltz", "All I Need to Hear" features a stripped-down production built around a blues-influenced chord sequence and echoes of fragmented guitar noise,[17][15][23] with the song being devoid of any tension.

[30] Uproxx writer Derrick Rossignol remarked that "All I Need to Hear" deviates from the otherwise comedic tone present on Being Funny in a Foreign Language, describing the song as a "warm, downtempo, soulful ballad".

[31] Observing a similar deviation from the album's other singles, Scott Russell of Paste opined that in contrast to the prior three releases, the song brings Healy's vocals to the forefront.

[18][33] Upon release, "All I Need to Hear" received positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who commended the song's understated, simplistic tone and the emotional vulnerability in the lyrics, with several deeming it a career highlight.

In a positive review, Brady Brickner-Wood of Pitchfork said: "['All I Need to Hear' is] simple but inimitable, general but specific—in a word, it's honest, an elusive quality that separates the 1975 from their mainstream rock contemporaries.

[11] In a ranking of the 1975's songs for NME, Daly listed the track at number 35, saying: "It's incredibly understated but that’s where it wields its power, its despondent glimmers reeling you in as Healy asks: 'Just tell me what I want to hear'".

Steve Erickson of Slant Magazine said the song finds honesty in the "seemingly banal",[36] while Genius writer Leah Degrazia said it sees Healy "trad[ing] cryptic social commentary for earnest romance".

[31] Calling it "nostalgic and reflective", the editorial staff of DIY praised the contrast between "All I Need to Hear" and previous single "I'm in Love with You", comparing it to the soundtrack of The Boat That Rocked (2009) and writing that the song would "incite goosebumps" at the band's concert.

Ben Devlin of MusicOMH declared the track to "easily" be among the greatest songs of the band's career; he praised the unironic and heartfelt lyrics while noting "tasteful" influences of Billy Joel and Randy Newman.

[28] Jordan Darville of The Fader said the track is a "workhorse of blue-eyed soul built for doing the heavy lifting at weddings",[13] while NME writer Tom Skinner called it tender and Smyth deemed the song beautiful.

[14] In a mixed review, Claire Biddles of The Line of Best Fit called the track a "solidly written soul-ish [ballad]", but noted that it did not compare to the band's best work.