Every part of every song on the album is performed by either Aesop Rock or Kimya Dawson, with the exception of the drums on "Delicate Cycle", which were played by James McNew of Yo La Tengo.

[7] Dave Heaton of PopMatters stated: "as the album moves forward, the number of moments, musical and lyrical, that sneak up on you and tear you apart increases".

[5] Nick Freed of Consequence of Sound found "the short interludes ("Superheros" and "WYHUOM") break the album's pace and hold back some of the flow.

[1] In his mixed review for Exclaim!, Thomas Quinlan wrote: "it's evident that the two were having a good time recording Hokey Fright, and though the album isn't always successful, it's encouraging to see creative individuals ignore genre boundaries in order to bridge gaps".

[6] On the other hand, Spin staff gave the album 3 out of 10, summing up with: "Aesop Rock's exhausted abstract rap goes on a no-chemistry date with Kimya Dawson's beyond-tedious twee".