[2] Simon Braithwaite of Smash Hits wrote that Life's Hard and Then You Die shows that It's Immaterial "write jolly good pop songs.

"[5] In a retrospective review, Michael Sutton of AllMusic wrote, "Musically, the LP is all over the place – new wave, country, blues, folk, and synth pop.

Somehow the smorgasbord of styles works, because the band members aren't being eclectic just for the sake of it; they simply have a wide canvas, keeping the album fresh from beginning to end.

For those of you who are genuinely moved by soaring harmonised vocals (courtesy of The Christians), ironic folk rendition, rolling Spanish guitars and tongue-in-cheek meanderings, I would seriously recommend this to you.

The gatefold cardboard sleeve contains a 15-page booklet with a track-by-track commentary written by John Campbell, Jarvis Whitehead, producer Dave Bascombe and A&R man Ross Stapleton.