[1][2] In a review for The Wire, Andy Hamilton called the album "an intimate affair," and wrote: "The pieces have a softness and slowness to them...

"[5] Mark Corroto of All About Jazz stated: "Listening to a virtuoso saxophonist like Matana Roberts, one hears more than just breath through a reed instrument.

"[3] The editors of The Free Jazz Collective awarded the album a full 5 stars, and reviewer Martin Schray commented: "As in a stream of consciousness Roberts seems to look for a topic, a recurrent theme, a plan she wants to follow... She wanders through the history of great black music, standing on the shoulders of giants... You can recognize bebop licks, blues riffs, staccato rhythms, free jazz runs and balladesque craving.

"[4] Writing for The Quietus, Stewart Smith noted that Roberts is "quite simply one of the most important living artists in any field," and remarked: "Solo saxophone albums can be a hard sell, but this seemingly modest effort is a beautiful thing... her playing really is poetic, as she calmly moves from long lyrical lines to tight runs of complex harmony.

He wrote: "Ms. Roberts closed her eyes and dug deep within to provide us with some sublime, heartfelt sonic medicine... this music is like a candle burning which can't be easily extinguished.