Rolling Stone writer Matt Diehl pointed to the track "Take It Back" as Jones' boldest departure, which features fuzzed-out guitars and spooky, distorted vocals.

On "4 Broken Hearts", he compared her to Dusty Springfield while confronting a mutual infidelity and, in the end, found a similarity between this record and Marvin Gaye's album Here, My Dear.

"[8] The photos for the album were taken by the photographer of Mad Men, Frank Ockenfels III, who worked with artists such as Fiona Apple and also Burton for his duo band with James Mercer, Broken Bells.

[16] On April 25, she appeared in Later... with Jools Holland show alongside Jack White, Alabama Shakes, Grimes, The Chieftains, Carolina Chocolate Drops and The Secret Sisters where she performed three songs of the album: "Say Goodbye", "Happy Pills" and "Little Broken Hearts".

She was also a part of Gurtenfestival 2012 alongside artists such as Lenny Kravitz, Snow Patrol, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Friendly Fires and others.

[18] On August 10, 2012, she joined Foo Fighters, Franz Ferdinand, Beck, Metallica, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Sigur Rós, Stevie Wonder, Skrillex and others for the 2012 Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival.

"[21] American Songwriter's review was positive about the album, calling it "the most dramatic and rewarding departure she's [Jones] made in her career" and said: "Little Broken Hearts is her most commanding and compelling role yet.

"[31] Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave a positive review to the album and rated it four-stars-out-of-five, writing: "It might be dark, but this stunning collection of anguish is the brightest she's shined in a long time.

"[20] Slant Magazine reviewer Jonathan Keefe also gave it a three-and-a-half star out of five and said: "Instead, by revealing some carefully chosen, deeply personal details and by building elaborate façades for the sake of drama, Jones has crafted her headiest, most complex album to date.

"[33] Kitty Empire of The Guardian criticized the album and gave it a three-star-out-of-five, saying: "Mostly, though, Little Broken Hearts finds an effective way to grab the listener by the lapels: with kid gloves.

"[34] Andy Gill of The Independent was very positive about the album, remarking: "There's always an ingenious, often unexpected, connection linking the music to the mood of a specific song," and gave it a four-out-of-five-star.

[25] However, Nick Coleman of The Independent on Sunday was more critical about the record, saying Jones' "strength as a singer comes not from the power of her voice but the detail of her phrasing" and gave it a three-star-out-of-five rating, labelling the album "dull".

[35] The Daily Telegraph writer Helen Brown was positive on the album, giving it four-out-of-five stars and wrote: "In the past decade, it seems Jones has made a sneaky transition from dinner party backdrop to David Lynch soundtrack.

"[37] The Boston Globe praised the album, saying: "There are enough good musical ideas here to keep the mind from wandering, and it brings her squarely into contemporary pop without sounding contrived.

"[38] Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune gave it a three-out-of-four star review and said: "There are enough good musical ideas here to keep the mind from wandering, and it brings her squarely into contemporary pop without sounding contrived.

"[28] Spin's review was very positive, scoring it as eight out of ten and writing: "Little Broken Hearts is exciting because it explores the darkest corners of betrayal, bad love, and jealousy with enough vitality to propel Jones out of the bloodless purgatory of brunch music.