[7] The lead single "Ruined" was released on December 5, 2023, and revolves around "a kind of romantic downfall" and "the effects of obsessive rumination".

Weinrobe thought the "joy is palpable" on the song and feels like he can "hear [Lenker] laughing and smiling" when listening back.

[13] On August 6, 2024, Lenker released the single "Once a Bunch", which was recorded during the Bright Future sessions and originally appeared as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of the album.

[21] In an advance review for Pitchfork, Andy Cush praised the album as "free-flowing and intuitive" and gave it the distinction of Best New Music.

[24] In another positive review, Matt Brown of DIY noted that the album had a "seriousness that hasn't necessarily been harnessed before" in Lenker's previous work.

[19] John Amen of No Depression wrote, "With Bright Future, Lenker retreats into a frequently contemplative space, setting aside Big Thief's genre-defining gestalts and Songs' more volatile stances ... [her] latest set accentuates her depth and versatility, reminding us that she's an avant-gardist and a traditionalist, attuned to the future as well as the past.