While Cattle Punching on a Jack Rabbit took a marked deviation from the pop sounds of Before Braille's initial release, The Rumor, it was generally well received.

The critics at Interpunk.com immediately noticed this difference, remarking that in "the past, people have tried to lump [ Before Braille ]into some sort of indie-pop rock category--maybe due to their success at CMJ & college radio--but this record is far edgier than anything they've done in the past.

For example, Cattle Punching was received as a top pick in IMPACT press, where Craig Mazer would exclaim "Goddamn, this is good!

Their passionate lyrics, blazing delivery, intense guitars, and murderous way with a hook will blow your mind.

However, when these same songs were released on Tired of Not Being Away From Here, they made at least a 5-week run on the CMJ 200 charts, peaking at number 77.