[3] The album is "an altogether happier effort" than its predecessor and shows the band seeming "confident and relaxed enough to work; the songs appear to be the result of actual woodshedding, not last-minute whip-ups.

"[5] Palmer's "especially careful" production "gets [the material] all down in a clear mix of bristling, textured power and slick commercial" whilst ably following "the group's minor stylistic perambulations while juggling modern dance beats, driving rock, pinging atmospherics, found-sound silliness and glossy mid-tempo pop.

"[5] Guitarist Rat and sometimes bassist Alex Griffin indulge "in crispier sometimes-abstract performances that suggest early-'80s post-punk à la New Order and the Cure.

"[3] According to Raggett, opening song "All I Ask of Myself Is That I Hold Together" features an "absolutely massive guitar blast and partially sampled metallic percussion" with "John Penney's always-reliable vocals riding the chaos with increasing desperation, serves notice that the quintet isn't into doing anything half-assed.

"[8] xsilence noted how, instead of transitioning into a Britpop band, as multiple "noisy groups" did at the time, Ned's Atomic Dustbin surprisingly took "the option to integrate electronic sounds into their scabby rock.