[2] In 1986, Martin revealed to Cash Box of the decision to release "Night Moves" as the first single from her debut album, "I think aggressive is the best word to describe my style.

That's primarily the reason we came out with a rock-oriented cut like 'Night Moves' as the first single, because it's exactly the sort of song I like recording most at this point.

[10] On its release, Billboard described the song as a "two-fisted rocker" which "could easily pass for a leaf from the Benatar songbook".

[11] Jan DeKnock of the Chicago Tribune wrote, "On 'Night Moves', Martin displays another side to her voice, showing enough rock power to rival Pat Benatar (their high notes sound eerily alike).

praised it as a "well-written song", noting the "great chord changes", "powerful raunchy vocal" and "guitar playing that will set a few heads nodding their appreciation".

He considered it to be "much more inspiring" than 'Separate Lives', adding "you'd be hard-pushed to recognise it as the same voice", and concluded that it's "a forceful invitation to take a listen to the album".

He added, "The slightly bizarre bent of the lyrics are given free reign[sic] in the terrific [video] which is an economy sized thriller with a wonderfully gruesome surprise ending.