The album features loose re-workings of the traditional folk song "Black Is the Colour (Of My True Love's Hair)", and "Ain't Got No, I Got Life" by Nina Simone.

Nace listed Sonic Youth's fourth studio album, Sister (1987), as an influence on his guitar techniques,[3] which have been compared to Japanese noise musician Merzbow.

Gordon sings of the murderess, the mistress, the actress, the 'good little housewife' … The songs are threaded with desperation and desire, detailing their service of and proximity to male power—both the possession and loss of it.

[12] Body/Head performed a number of shows in the United States in support of Coming Apart's release, including dates in Brooklyn, New York; Los Angeles and San Diego, California; Chicago, Illinois and Detroit, Michigan in September and October 2013.

[13] The band is due to commence a three-week European tour, beginning at Amplifest in Porto, Portugal on October 20 and concluding at Cafe Oto in London, United Kingdom on November 10.

"[17] Writing for Consequence of Sound, Ryan Bray described the album as "a sparse exercise in cranky tension, one crafted almost strictly out of angry, feedback-laden soundscapes."

"[18] FILTER writer Alejandro Rubio described Coming Apart as having an "overall cathartic tone that runs throughout the record", drawing comparisons to "visceral Lead Belly sensibility through an avant-garde John Cage approach and "the dark Eastern dissonance" of Nico's The Marble Index (1969).

"[21] Writing for Pitchfork Media, Marc Masters described how "Gordon and Nace burrow deep into their narrow sound, mining it for more variety and emotion than it should rightfully hold.

"[11] Kevin Korber of PopMatters awarded the album an eight out of ten rating, praising the idea that "for a project born out of improvisation, Coming Apart is a surprisingly cohesive piece.

[22] In Spin's review of Coming Apart, Jessica Hopper rated it eight out of ten and highlighted the album's feminist themes, noting that "Nace fits seamlessly into this feminine cosmos" and summarizing that "at no other time in her career has Gordon been so forceful, so in her own power.