"[6] In a review for DownBeat, Aaron Cohen stated that the musicians know "how much power comes through movements that might at first appear sparse, but take on stunning resonance with each added layer.... they emphasize minimalism over complex harmonic changes and favor a series of subtle sonic shifts over virtuoso solos.

"[7] Giovanni Russonello of The New York Times singled out the track titled "In Memory's Prism" for praise, writing: "It all has the implacable momentum of migration, or the feeling of a big new idea just coming into being.

"[13] Writing for Jazzwise, Daniel Spicer called the music "spiritually charged ecstatic minimalism," and remarked: "Sincere, serious and deeply transporting in equal measure, Mandatory Reality deserves your attention.

"[8] Pitchfork's Andy Beta described "In Memory's Prism" as "exquisitely slow, like tai chi or a record played back at 16 rpm," and wrote: "It's so languid that you feel not so much like you are listening to a band so much as walking among them...

The music moves so slowly as to impart the notion that this sense of pause, of dilated attention, might itself be the mandatory reality, rather than the one that clutters our waking lives from every possible angle.

"[9] Spyros Stasis of PopMatters noted the presence of a "constant process of transformation" in the music, and stated: "As the ensemble moves from one track to the next, it feels like they are discovering something new about their compositions and ideas each time.

"[10] In an article for Aquarium Drunkard, Jason P. Woodbury commented: "the sense of possibility, space, and most importantly, freedom, makes Mandatory Reality feel like a balm in our hyperspeed times.