[9] Helen Brown of The Independent gave the album a perfect score, calling it "Grunge-rinsed, feminist-flipped, upcycled Fifties guitar an' all: Crushing is a triumph".

[13] Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph praised the album, giving it a perfect score and saying, "As a body of work, Crushing feels small, intimate and inward.

"[12] Jonathan Bernstein of Rolling Stone described it as a "subdued yet arresting LP that blends sweet indie-pop with folk introspection and delicate piano balladry, as Jacklin offers up concise self-realizations without fuss or fanfare.

"[19] Adriane Pontecorvo of PopMatters gave the album a positive review, saying, "Life, love, heartbreak: none of it is particularly novel as musical material, but on Crushing, Julia Jacklin lets us learn from her experiences with her heart on her sleeve.

She added that concept albums had reemerged through the culturally-relevant autobiographical narratives of artists such as Jacklin, who "redefined the edges of intimacy within the singer-songwriter mode on Crushing, which considers how women set boundaries and constantly face the violation of them, not just in love but in every aspect of their lives".