It also includes interweaving vocals and sophisticated harmonies, with more instances of the Brewis brothers singing together than past Field Music albums, as well as prominent use of strings and brass instruments.

Commontime was the first album released by Field Music since David and Peter Brewis became fathers, and several of its songs are about parenthood and family, as well as the shift in responsibility and priorities imposed by children.

[38] Pitchfork writer T. Cole Rachel described Commontime as "splitting the difference" between the "artful leanings" of Field Music's Measure (2010) and the "more conventional post-punk pop immediacy" of the band's 2005 self-titled debut album.

[6][38][46][47] Sean Ward of The 405 cited the "unconventional rhythm" of the songs "Disappointed" and "But Not For You" as examples,[5] and The Guardian writer Alexis Petridis described "I'm Glad" as having a "tricky, ungainly time signature".

[32][49] Commontime features more instances of the Brewis brothers singing together than past Field Music albums,[16] as well as more backing vocals in general, with David describing them as "really quite prominent and quite complicated" and "kind of an audacious thing to do".

[35] With elements of funk,[4][9][53] jazz,[35][50] and progressive pop,[36] "The Noisy Days are Over" features a fast-paced and energetic tempo,[8][42][52] a circular and repetitive bassline,[35][42] and a dance-floor groove that lasts for the song's duration.

[32][42] Jacob Nicholas of The Mancunion wrote that the song "showcases the whole of Commontime in a single track: the tight, trebly groove, the orchestral flourishes, the two brothers harmonising, and a slightly off-kilter drum outro".

[52] By starting the album with "The Noisy Days are Over", PopMatters writer Ian King said Field Music "(goes) for broke up front ... setting up the rest of Commontime with a flexibility that they enthusiastically explore but don’t push too far".

[36] A ballad[33][36] with dreamy avant-garde flourishes,[5][50] the song features a prominent string accompaniment and a simple piano backing,[26][39] complemented by what Connor called a "floating" brass part.

[56] Philpott called it "arguably the poppiest track in the band's repertoire",[36] and Bemrose wrote: "Its languid, hazy start is misleading for what swiftly transforms into an out and out catchy pop tune that is a great deal of fun.

"[23] Bartleet described "Trouble at the Lights" as "possibly the best example of how expansive" Field Music has become,[24] while Allmusic writer Tim Sendra said the song shows "how well they can stretch out and do some serious sonic exploration".

[3][23] Commontime was the first album released by Field Music since David and Peter Brewis became fathers,[30][46][54] and several of its songs are about parenthood and family,[14][33][37] as well as the shift in responsibility and priorities imposed by children.

[46][54] Rebecca Lord of Barry and District News wrote: "Perhaps the overwhelming influence on the brother's recent songwriting, intentionally or not, is fatherhood, ... with conversations and choruses, family and friendship at the heart of Commontime.

[53] In any event, Rachel writes that the song "both acknowledges and rejects the pains of growing older",[2] and The Guardian writer Harriet Gibsone said some of the lyrics involve "lamenting the end of life without the burden of adult responsibilities".

[32] The work of Field Music has usually included political connotations, often influenced by the Brewis' brothers hometown of Sunderland, which had long experienced job losses, budget cuts, and other negative consequences of government policies.

In the video, Hopper visits various places throughout Sunderland,[9] including the Park Lane Interchange, The Bridges, Jacky White's Market, the Hot Rats record shop, and the city's seafront.

[9] Peter Brewis conceived the concept for the music video, and he felt Martin's finished product was "visually stunning" and "very funny",[9] adding: "It's a perfect commentary to the song and it works as a snapshot of our little cultural sphere in Sunderland".

[31] Paul McGuinness of Record Collector said the album improves the longer it plays, and praised Field Music for "doing the unexpected, not content to allow a song to simply flow the way it feels it should".

[2] NME writer Larry Bartleet said Commontime "feels at once fresh and self-assured, bearing its painstaking complexity with a striking nonchalance ... not only do the Brewis brothers work outside the mainstream, they’re making music no one on the inside is capable of"[24] Ian King of PopMatters said the band's foray into funky rhythms felt like a "natural next step" for Field Music, and called the album "wiry but not wired, showing the brothers from Sunderland, England to be as smart and agile as ever, all the while making it sound easy.

"[40] Sean Ward of The 405 said the album is consistently strong, with each track nearly as good as the next: "Field Music can do no wrong when it comes to critical releases as they add another exceptional song set to their growing discography.

"[27] Le Monde writer Stéphane Daet called Commontime a complex album that may require additional listens to fully appreciate, and particularly complemented the songs "Disappointed", "They Want You to Remember", and "The Morning Is Waiting".

[4] Bekki Bemrose of musicOMH praised Commontime's songs, calling them especially fulfilling due to their attention to detail, and said "The Noisy Days Are over" in particular "by rights it should be topping charts and dominating radio air time".

[34] Rebecca Lord of Barry and District News wrote, "No one else really does what Field Music do: the interweaving vocals, the rhythmic gear changes, the slightly off-chords, the obvious lack of bombast, the songs which end abruptly or merge into others.

[67] Rudy Foster of The Line of Best Fit enjoyed the album, particularly "The Noisy Days Are Over", but said he believed it would have been more commercially successful if had catchy hooks and more conventional time signatures instead of unusual lyrical structures and "weird staccato drum patterns".

[33] Jacob Nicholas of The Mancunion called the album a "hyperkinetic stream of ideas" and said the band "take(s) simple pop songs and create(s) something occasionally genuinely transcending, brilliant and life affirming in a way that's hard to describe".

Clash writer Benji Taylor praised "The Morning is Waiting" for You" and "The Noisy Days are Over", which he called "impossibly catchy", but felt the band "play(ed) it too safe at times",[46] and could have sounded edgier.

"[46] Cody Ray Shafer of Under the Radar felt Commontime was a more consistent album than Plumb, but also a less adventurous and less exciting one that "lacks the inventive spark that we've come to expect from Field Music".

[35] Consequence of Sound writer Pat Levy called the album "yet another exciting new move for the band" with many high points, but said it was arranged haphazardly, with some songs bleeding together and others "sticking out like a sore thumb".

[50] Multiple reviewers compared Commontime to the work of Talking Heads,[15][39][53] Steely Dan,[2][3][4] XTC,[4][27][30] David Bowie,[5][44] Hot Chip,[3][30][39] Peter Gabriel and Genesis,[6][27][32] Prefab Sprout,[31][33] Scritti Politti, Todd Rundgren,[33][36] The Kinks,[28][30] and Electric Light Orchestra.

[5][23][36] In November 2015,[42] the official Twitter account of the musician Prince tweeted a link to the song "The Noisy Days Are Over", with no accompanying text except the words "FIELD MUSIC" in capital letters.