[2] Road to Rouen was a difficult album for the band for personal reasons, including Danny Goffey's tabloid ordeal and the death of Gaz and Rob Coombes' mother.

The record was highly acclaimed and well received by most fans of the band; it reached a respectable number 9 on the UK Albums Chart.

"[5] In a 2008 interview, bassist Mick Quinn said the introspection and orchestration of the album was "almost entirely" a direct reaction to the death of the Coombes brothers' mother, as well as Danny Goffey's tabloid ordeal.

"[6] The front cover photo depicts a cattle bridge near Lefaux, France, that crosses the A16 autoroute, part of the route between Boulogne and Rouen.

Erlewine then hailed the album as "a terrific little record" and concluded, "Supergrass have found new things to do with their sound without getting self-consciously mature or middlebrow.

"[8] John Murphy of MusicOMH lavished the album with praise, stating that Road to Rouen "adds up to the sound of a band developing and maturing nicely, without ever losing sight of what made them so great in the first place.

"[17] By contrast, Jack Smith of the BBC was more critical of the album, concluding that, "Supergrass have outlasted most of their contemporaries and still have it in them to make a truly amazing masterpiece.