The album's lyrics explore the complexities of romantic relationships and stages of love, much of which was inspired by her marriage to professional basketball player Shannon Brown and her relocation to Arizona.

[1] New Life was met with mixed reception from music critics, many of whom praised Monica's vocal performances and the album's trend-detaching nature, but found the material too generic and cliché-addled.

[8] As with previous albums, the singer reteamed with frequent contributors such as Bryan-Michael Cox, Missy Elliott, Jazmine Sullivan, and Cainon Lamb but also worked with a group of several new musicians, songwriters, and producers.

[13] Within the next months, she resumed recording for the album and booked additional studio sessions with Rico Love and co-producers Earl & E, Mr. Morris, and Pierre Medor to retool New Life.

[6] A contemporary R&B album, New Life features upbeat pop songs,[14] hip hop-textured midtempo tracks,[14] and anthemic ballads.

[15] Along with contemporary urban sounds, its music incorporates soft reggae elements,[16] muted gospel,[17] and, particularly in Elliott's songs, heavy soul influences that fit with the quiet storm radio format.

"[19] Similarly, Allison Wallace, writer for The Daily Californian, remarked that New Life contained "thick, sultry body-grinding R&B beats and fluttering falsetto solos that leave autotuned popstars like Ke$ha stammering.

"[20] Slant Magazine's Jonathan Keefe found that New Life reflected Monica's intention "to develop a husky, robust lower register that makes her voice even more distinctive.

[14] According to AllMusic's Matt Collar, the singer "recalls both her '90s heyday and the burnished, swaggering approach of such icons as Mary J. Blige and Toni Braxton.

"[20] "Take a Chance" featuring rapper Wale depicts both parties of a love story in which Monica declared that she Is ready for more, while her lover stands still with hesitance.

[20] Airy and featherweight,[24] it features an understated synthpop instrumental, that fades into the background during the verses before rising into a layered affair for the chorus.

[16][20] "Until It's Gone" is a soulful, anthemic ballad built upon percussion with piano chords that mix a deft synth with a drum program studio vibe.

[15] "Amazing", which deals with loyalty,[20] is a mid-tempo slow jam that mixes distracting, amelodic electronic bleeps with Monica's vocal track.

[14][17] A light-handed use of Stax-era vintage sounds, it mixes her vocals with clean bluesy guitar riffs and gospel choir backups.

[17] "Anything (To Find You)" is an uptempo song, which exhibits elements of the early – to mid-1990s hip hop soul music and samples "Who Shot Ya?"

"[30] She also stated that her separation from rapper Rodney "Rocko" Hill, her marriage to professional basketball player Shannon Brown in November 2010, and their subsequent relocation from Atlanta to Arizona contributed to that idea.

[33] The cover art for the deluxe edition, photographed by Derek Blanks, was shown after the album's retooling on March 19, 2012, and features another close shot of the singer's face.

[36] "It All Belongs to Me", the album's third offering and official leading single, a duet with fellow recording artist Brandy conceived after New Life's delay and subsequent rework, was released digitally on February 14, 2012.

"[38] Adam Markovitz of Entertainment Weekly criticized its "cheesy choruses and outdated tun," and called the album "a thoroughly last-millennium set of self-help ballads about starting over ('Take a Chance') and finding strength in tears ('Cry'), set to the kind of cheesy slow-jam beats that were hot back during Monica's previous life as a '90s teen phenom.

"[39] Los Angeles Times writer Ernest Hardy criticized the songwriting and called the album "a slickly produced collection of largely generic, meandering songs about self-affirmation in the wake of heartache and romantic disillusionment.

Club commented that it "engages [Monica's] vocal strengths without ever really challenging them" and stated: "New Life isn't about broadening horizons so much as it is about realizing a comfortable niche.

"[19] Although he found it "beautifully sung and slickly produced," Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe also called the album "numbingly predictable" and commented that Monica "deserves better material than the generic songs she works with here.

"[15] Allison Stewart from The Washington Post called the album an "offering that's heavy on hard-luck ballads and light on snappy, elbow-throwing joints,"[42] while TheWrap critic Chris Willman found that "Monica's producers and writers seem to be saving their best game for some other prematurely aged R&B princess.