Following the self-recorded Lightning (2012), New Glow features production and engineering contributions from Jesse Shatkin, Andrew Dawson, and Lars Stalfors, who produced the duo's self-titled debut.

Although certain journalists enjoyed New Glow as a fun album, it was generally considered their weakest release due to its move towards a mainstream polished sound and drying-out of a simple formula.

[1] With New Glow, Matt & Kim intended to capture their love of various popular musical styles that they felt they successfully did in their live shows but never in recording format.

[16] Jon Dolan, writing for Rolling Stone, enjoyed it as the duo's catchiest record yet, but also stated that "their all-smiles assault can be adorable, at least in moderate doses", but gets tiring after repeat listens.

One reason was the polished mainstream sound that departed from the energy and spirit of their past releases, with reviewers considered signature to Matt & Kim's quality.

[4][7][17] Others considered it their worst record for the re-use of their simplistic compositional and lyrical style, to the point where it lost its luster and made the material sound amateur.

[5][8][18][19] Evan Rytlewski's review for Pitchfork concluded with an appeal to both opinions: "New Glow may be Matt & Kim’s most polished album, but their songwriting has never been more amateurish.

[8] As Katherine Flynn of Consequence of Sound advised, "Matt and Kim should maybe question the wisdom of eschewing the richness of their own wealth of experience in favor of whatever the kids are listening to these days.

Davis highlighted the amount of detail, "Not Alone" in particular showcasing the "full range of Johnson’s palette, with sections of keys, string accents, and bass fuzz, and drummer Kim Schifino tearing along beside him".