[4][5][6] Lead vocalist Craig Finn said in a press release: "Open Door Policy was very much approached as an album vs. a collection of individual songs, and it feels like our most musically expansive record.

This album was written and almost entirely recorded before the pandemic started, but the songs and stories explore power, wealth, mental health, technology, capitalism, consumerism, and survival – issues which have compounded in 2020.

[11] In a review for Pitchfork, Daniel Felsenthal wrote: "Their rejuvenated second act continues with Open Door Policy, an ornate record that incorporates Nicolay’s ambitious compositions as an integral part of the band’s songwriting.

In a review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "Written and recorded as a cohesive album, Open Door Policy feels like the Cinemascope cousin to Thrashing Thru the Passion: the Hold Steady take full advantage of their larger canvass.

Finn's words deserve concentration, but the key to Open Door Policy is how it plays as an operatic rock & roll record, where the emphasis lies more on the melodrama than the grit.

"[13] Lee Zimmerman of American Songwriter wrote: "Expressed from a first person point of view, the music comes across with a sense of unease, urgency and uncertainty, which, in turn, boosts both interest and intrigue.

"[16] Writing for Exclaim!, Oliver Crook gave the album an eight out of 10, explaining "Open Door Policy carries all the trademarks of a Hold Steady record: Craig Finn's distinctive vocals are supported by an effortlessly distorted sound that is equally as complex.