The song was released on September 2, 2015 along with the announcement of Many Moons and an accompanying music video.

[1] "Northern Highway" received positive reviews from contemporary music critics.

In his review of Many Moons, Marc Hogan of Pitchfork Media stated that "Northern Highway" "cruises along, suitably upbeat, as it balances existential questions ("Do you feel just like a stranger?")

with the narrator's avowal that he could never retire to a place without seasons—all via a chiming arrangement befitting the Left Banke.

[4] Zumic described the video with, "The no frills video sees Martin playing electric and acoustic guitars under highways, on railroad tracks, and in front of nondescript buildings, with occasional landscape shots thrown in.