[3] Following the release of his debut album World So Bright, Adam Schmitt suffered a car accident that rendered him immobile for six months.

[6] Parke Puterbaugh of Stereo Review labeled the album as "promising" and singled out "Three Faces West"; writing that "carefully layered guitars and limpid bass tones frame an affecting vocal from Schmitt.

Club said Illiterature found Schmitt "expanding his sonic palate" elaborating with "moving well beyond the simple form of the three-minute pop song".

[8] The Album Network said Illiterature "found the pulse of rock 'n roll in the 90s", particularly praising "Rip It Off" as "hard, angry and dark, and yet it also possesses a certain amount of melody and pop sensibility.

"[9] More negatively, Stewart Mason of AllMusic wrote "the grunge-style guitars obscure the songs' inherent charms and the pointless elongation of several tracks -- sounds like Schmitt was trying to pad the album to a reasonable length".