[11] Los Angeles Times critic Mikael Wood wrote that despite the band's mastery of the "textural know-how" of contemporary alternative rock, their songs mostly "stretch out into dreary electro-goth atmospherics" and "lack any kind of urgency".

[1] Kat Rolle of Drowned in Sound deemed its lyrics to be "inane" and thematically limited to "California and sex", while panning the band's musical approach as unoriginal and calculated for mass appeal.

[13] In a positive review, Jamie Milton of DIY wrote that the Neighbourhood "stick to the remarkably fully formed mantra they arrived on the scene chanting", concluding that I Love You "achieves what few debuts can, by making one hell of an opening statement".

[12] Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian was critical of the album's "petulant" lyrics, which she remarked were "obviously aimed at teenagers", but concluded that its "dreamy melancholy and high-shine production" and "traditional songcraft" may nonetheless appeal to a broader audience.

[15] Irish Times critic Jim Carroll remarked that the band's hooky pop songs, such as "Sweather Weather" and "Female Robbery", can be "ravishing", but felt that the album is weighed down by occasional "fillers".