"[4] Gray's commercial expectations, however, were low: "This record is going to disappear off the face of the earth, bar some freak occurrence."

[4] The Daily Telegraph wrote that the album "is unlikely to win Gray new fans but is as rich and heartfelt as admirers have come to expect.

"[10] The Independent gave the album 2 out of 5 stars and called it "fairly grim" and "so swaddled in 'poetic' obfuscation it's hard to summon enough interest to decode [it]",[11] adding that while Foundling is "restrained, understated, graceful," it is "unlikely to repeat White Ladder's success.

"[13] Drowned in Sound gave Foundling a 6/10 rating, calling it "out of time, often boring, but...just too competent to lend itself to any fun.

"[14] The Evening Standard called the album "safe",[15] but Q magazine, on the other hand, wrote that Gray is "getting more interesting with each release".