[8] Following the song's release, frontman Thomas Mars stated that it "goes in a different sonic direction from the LP", which feels "all over the place" and like the "same sort of weird Frankenstein of an album" that the band's debut United is.

Pascal Teixeira's cover art for Alpha Zulu and accompanying singles is an edited portion of the 1478 painting Madonna col Bambino mediante otto angeli by Sandro Botticelli.

[22] Writing for NME, Thomas Smith called it an album "that further confirms their place as one of the scene's most consistently enjoyable bands" with "nods to the razor-sharp pop hits from their beginnings ('If I Ever Feel Better'), to the indie-disco bangers that preceded their era of early '10s indie" like "1901" and "Lisztomania".

found that "Much like 2017's Ti Amo, Alpha Zulu has a romantic warmth that transcends lyrics, which evade interpretation", opining that "Phoenix in 2022 sound pretty much identical to how they did at the peak of their powers" and ultimately calling it "an album that often feels like a trip back to the aughts".

[21] Reviewing the album for The Line of Best Fit, Simon Heavisides found that it "confronts reality with a dreamy neon-lit elegance pulsing with playful vitality" and "runs on its nerves but has its feet on the dance floor".

[26] Pitchfork's Brady Brickner-Wood wrote that Phoenix's "euphoric synth rock sounds as good as it ever has, the songs gushing with renewed enthusiasm and glittery production", describing Alpha Zulu as "a fun, fizzy record that'll undoubtedly find a home on strobe-lit dancefloors across the world".

[2] Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Michelle Kambasha judged that the album "sounds distinctly like one of theirs, yet they're still a bunch of wide-eyed eccentrics, looking to marry what-would-be-ordinary pop with the unconventional", concluding that it is "a robust addition to their already acclaimed catalogue".