On 30 March, the second single "Dream Lover" also aired as Hottest Record on BBC Radio 1, and a music video was released on 1 April.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave the album a 3.5/5 star rating, saying that "these are candied sonic fantasias, passionate re-creations of the past with no reverence for history, and that divine, stubborn nostalgia fuels English Graffiti, turning it into the Vaccines' best record.

"[13] British publication NME reviewed the album highly positively with writer Barry Nicholson awarding it 8/10 and claiming that "The indie titans return with a kitschier, more colourful, genre-spanning version of their old selves.

"[17] The Guardian's Dave Simpson also positively reviewed English Graffiti, referencing that "the reinvention The Vaccines promised on their second album, Come of Age has been delivered by their third.

"[11] In a mixed review, Laura Snapes of Pitchfork claimed that "The Vaccines sought out Dave Fridmann...to work on their third album, and it's their best yet.

Lead singer and songwriter Justin Young cites "I Couldn't Say It to Your Face" by Arthur Russell, "On Melancholy Hill" by Gorillaz and "Beautiful Lady" by Shin Jung-hyeon as his major inspirations during the writing of this album.