At AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated the album four stars out of five, writing that Gilbert is "an outlaw with no desire to rebel, an insider who doesn't belong, so his music exists just outside the perimeters of what is accepted and is all the more powerful for it.

"[7] Brian Mansfield of USA Today rated the album two stars out of four, stating that " Coupling '80s-rock machismo with backroads buzzwords, these songs play like set-list padding.

"[8] Markos Papadatos of Digital Journal rated the album four-and-a-half stars out of five, remarking how on a release that shows his further refinement "as a vocalist and as a songwriter", Gilbert makes it clear on a musical project where "nothing [is] fake about him and there are no apologies on this record.

"[9] At The New York Times, Jon Caramanica gave a positive review of the album, saying that Gilbert "is a lunk with poet dreams, a bodybuilder cradling a newborn" because he "certainly [has] an intimate understanding of how his hard exterior allows him to flaunt softness when it's called for.

"[10] Mike Johnston, former Host Echo bassist, has called Bottoms Up "an inspiration for an entire generation."