"In the Morning" received mixed reviews from music critics who found it reminiscent of songs from Up All Night but were put off by Johnny Borrell's performance.

Paul Stokes of NME praised the song's instrumentation and lyricism for its depiction of a hangover after a big party, saying that it "sets the tone for Razorlight to sound like the classic rock’n’roll band they always imagined in their heads: bigger, bolder, brighter.

"[4] John Murphy of MusicOMH praised the song for acting as a promising opener for the self-titled album because of Borrell's ability to deliver "a memorable chorus and a valedictory, celebratory atmosphere about it.

"[5] Michael Lomas of PopMatters felt that the song's instrumentation was ruined by Borrell's writing and vocal delivery, saying that he's "blissfully unaware of the irony in his words and how ridiculous he sounds singing them.

"[7] Mike Diver of Drowned in Sound criticized the band for over-hyping the song as a "classic" that has cod-reggae production and faux-philosophical lyrics, saying that "We are not about to allow Razorlight to shower their already overly praised frames in further commendations and recommendations, when the material they produce is not simply poor, as such, but depressingly, irredeemably average.