After releasing a series of independent EPs, the last being 2019's Bigger Than Me, the band went viral in 2020, partially in part of receiving public endorsements of pop punk veterans Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low and Dan Campbell of The Wonder Years.

[3] Johnson noted that the band intended to maintain true to their established sound despite signing to a major label, while at the same time creating a new sense of maturity in the music.

[2] The track "Feel a Thing" opens up with electronic notes reminiscent of 1980s video games, before moving into distorted guitar riffs come in matching the same notes, while the song progresses into upbeat and optimistic vocals, large drum beats, and fast guitar work.

[12] NME praised the album, concluding that "The pop-punk revival so far may have platformed big-budget solo artists – including Willow [Smith], Machine Gun Kelly, and Olivia Rodrigo – but with ‘Model Citizen’, Meet Me @ The Altar prove there is still nothing quite like rocking out with your best mates, and confronted with the burden that they are what so many needed as younger fans, the weight on their shoulders could have been too heavy to bare [sic].

But to constantly tie them to the regrets of yesteryear is to deny what is painfully obvious; ‘Model Citizen’ is the work of a band who are absolutely for the now.