[3][4] Lead guitarist Billy Coté wrote or cowrote the majority of the album's songs; he thought that many were about the oppressive rather than enjoyable aspects of summer.

[5][6] The sound of Hello June Fool was influenced by trip hop, with "Train" incorporating the style of dub reggae.

[7][8] Pitchfork noted that "the warm narcotic haze of the guitars envelops you like an old blanket, but Mary Lorson's vocals, still cold as ice-nine, keep you from passing out completely.

"[11] Newsday said that "Madder Rose resonates like an amalgam of the worst Mazzy Star-Cowboy Junkies pap imaginable.

"[17] AllMusic concluded that "there's a definite air of wistful, smoky mystery throughout Hello June Fool, almost suggesting the touch of such acts as Portishead and Massive Attack.