"Reach for the Dead" was premiered on Zane Lowe's programme on BBC Radio 1 on 23 May 2013[2] and released later the same day on Warp Records' official SoundCloud.

Billboard writer Lars Bradle said that "if [Boards of Canada]'s followers were hoping for an upbeat treat in the vein of 2005's 'Dayvan Cowboy,' then think again.

wrote: "much like you'd expect, the track takes a sombre route, hitting those [Boards of Canada] touchstones while adding a whole new layer of updated and wicked-eerie atmospherics to the mix"[9] and The A.V.

"[10] Nick Neyland of Pitchfork Media stated that the song is "much darker than most of their prior material, marrying the mournfulness of Popol Vuh's soundtrack work with the swell of underground artists producing John Carpenter-indebted electronica.

"[11] Tom Breihan of Stereogum described the song as "an ominous, humming instrumental drone-piece with just a few hints of the sad nostalgia that the group used to radiate."

The following day, Warp Records published a post on Twitter, "with no context or reason", and announced the release of a reversed version of the video.