Her debut with the label, Imbruglia reteamed with Gary Clark to work on her next project, but also consulted a wider range of producers to collaborate with her, including Eg White, Martin Harrington, Ben Hillier, Ash Howes, Daniel Johns, David Kosten, Stephen Lipson, Paul Mac, and Ian Stanley.

The album received generally favorable reviews, to which compliment was given for having a handful of genuinely great songs, even though critics were disappointed of its play-it-safe attitude that undid some of the good works and risk taker provided by its predecessor, White Lilies Island.

For all the bittersweet melancholy and dark undertones of White Lilies Island suggested an interesting career ahead, yet only on a few occasions does Counting Down the Days veer into this territory.

Instead, the majority is made up of fairly inoffensive radio-friendly pop songs [...] Counting Down the Days will undoubtedly be a commercial success but its play-it-safe attitude undoes some of the good work done by its predecessor.

"[1] Betty Clarke, writing for The Guardian, felt that "Revisiting the mid-tempo rhythms of her last album, Imbruglia turns from muse to troubled girl next door, gushing about love and fretting about voices in her head, while acoustic guitars, flutes and strings whip a radio-friendly pop froth around her.