On 25 February 2018, "My Enemy" appeared on the music streaming platform Deezer for a short amount of time,[3][4][5] as a screenshot of the song playing on Spotify surfaced on the internet.
Chvrches' front woman Lauren Mayberry praised Berninger's work the interview, stating that the band is "huge fans of the National and have been for a long time" and had played a few festivals together.
"[13] Bianca Gracie of Fuse complimented Chvrches' ability to "effortlessly express tangible emotions in synth-pop", writing that the song has "a completely different tone" than "Get Out" and "leaves you feeling surprisingly empty, but satisfied enough to give it another play".
[15] Brian Haack of Grammy Award praised the song, writing: "The resulting collaboration touches all the right notes of Chvrches trademark sound: it's lyrically lush and sonically layered enough to wow crowds at festival stages, but also packed with hooks and catchy vocal melodies that should play well on radio and streaming platforms.
'"[18] Robin Murray of Clash regarded it as "a record of both quiet and significant change for the Scottish group", calling it "a brooding, crystalline piece of synth pop" in which "every element feels exactly measured".