[7] Alternative Press wrote that "After the wet noodle that was 2011's Mine Is Yours, California indie purveyors Cold War Kids come back al dente on Dear Miss Lonelyhearts.

"[9] Heather Phares of AllMusic felt the record played to the group's strengths: "Dear Miss Lonelyhearts is more about what the band does best rather than breaking new ground, and the result is some of Cold War Kids' most promising and satisfying music since their debut.

"[11] Kevin Perry of NME found the record a return to form for the band, following Mine Is Yours: "They’ve stopped trying to do indie rock by numbers and gone back to the sort of idiosyncratic weirdness that made us fall for them in the first place.

"[15] More mixed reviews came from Paste's Philip Cosores, who felt that while the band achieved new relevance, it still covered predictable territory: "[The album] is hampered by innocuous words and the lack of personality in the arrangements.

"[10] Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone opined that "All the literary ambitions and drama-rock gestures fall in a ponderous heap – like CWK are losing an arms race with their own pretensions.