After being delayed for over two years, Broke with Expensive Taste was released by Banks herself and Prospect Park via Caroline Records without any prior announcements.

Broke with Expensive Taste peaked at number 30 on the US Billboard 200 and appeared on record charts of other five countries: Australia, Scotland, Belgium, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

[5] In 2011, it was reported that Banks was working on a studio album with British producer Paul Epworth despite not having signed to a particular record label at that time.

[11] Steven J. Horowitz from Billboard characterized Broke with Expensive Taste as a hip house record with touchstones from R&B, UK garage, Bounce music and drum and bass.

[12] On behalf of The Irish Times, reviewer Jim Carroll called Broke with Expensive Taste an album of "dance-pop gallivanting".

[2] The album opens with "Idle Delilah", a glitchy mid-tempo track that contains "tropical, thuggish and quirky" sounds and was compared to the work of Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliott due to its use of both rapping and singing, which were noted for being rugged and velvety.

[30] Ultimately, the plan was cancelled and later that month, she confirmed that "Yung Rapunxel" would be the official lead single from Broke with Expensive Taste.

[36] However, due to negative fan feedback and personal disinterest regarding the song,[37] Banks later announced that "ATM Jam" would be removed from the album.

[38] The second official single from Broke with Expensive Taste was "Heavy Metal and Reflective", which was released for digital sales on July 28, 2014.

[42] In further promotional efforts for the album, a music video for a non-single track "Wallace" was filmed in April, 2014 in New York City and released on March 11, 2015.

The video portrays Banks walking through the desert and sitting on rocks whilst shots jump to her band playing on the drums.

[46] In Rolling Stone, Suzy Exposito hailed the record as possibly "the year's boldest release",[53] while Matthew Horton from NME called it "a cascading flood of madcap imagination".

[51] Suzie McCracken of The Observer deemed it "a contender for album of the year" while praising the music's eclecticism: "Banks immerses herself in 90s nostalgia, spitting darkly and sharply over tracks full of elements of UK garage, deep house and trap (an aggressive strain of hip-hop).

[55] Critic Robert Christgau commended her vocal performances but stated that while her understanding of sex was more dynamic than her male counterparts', "her troubles are the usual star-time overindulgences, and just about every terrific song here is a boast one way or another.

"[57] Fred Thomas from AllMusic said the record's highlights, including "the time-tested singles", were spoiled by musically incongruous filler, making it feel "like a piecemeal collection of tracks that spike and dip in terms of quality and intent".

[63] In Rolling Stone's list of the year's best rap records, it was named the 10th best and "the sort of effortless triumph that deserves to outshine the Internet circus".

[64] Broke with Expensive Taste was also voted the 14th best album of 2014 in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics nationwide, published by The Village Voice.

[66] Broke with Expensive Taste debuted at number 62 on the UK Albums Chart for the week ending November 15, 2014, with 1,751 copies sold.