Wingo called that their musical process was "a matter of them playing me something that was perfect and needed nothing else" and other times, he would have a little room to fill in with some other colors and he took one instrument from the piece he had done and created a new theme based on it.

[2] The film was shot a year after the Bastrop County Complex Fire, which Wingo felt that amidst the burnt remains there was also a rebirth of the forest, bringing a unique landscape.

[6] Gregory Heaney of AllMusic gave four stars to the album and wrote "Prince Avalanche is a beautifully subtle and introspective score that highlights the strong points of its composers while serving the needs of the film it was written for.

[11] Brice Ezell of Popmatters also gave 7/10 to the album, saying "As a standalone record, however, Prince Avalanche OST captures a new way for Explosions in the Sky to make instrumental music, even if that requires some circumspection that pulls too tightly on the reins when a looser grip might have been the right move.

"[12] Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone gave two-and-a-half out of three stars summarising "Explosions in the Sky compact their wide-horizon guitarscapes to fit composer David Wingo's minimalist orchestrations.

"[13] Rating three stars out of five, felt that the soundtrack "works on a smaller scale, capturing fleeting moments in a series of reflective interludes that often pair long, sustained notes over plucked acoustic guitar".