[1] Prior to the song's release, a user on the social media site Reddit discovered "Safe and Sound" in a DJ set by Busy P, head of Ed Banger Records, through the Shazam mobile app.

[4] On the same day, the song was made available as a free download, in both MP3 and WAV formats, from Justice's website.

Ryan Reed of Rolling Stone called the song "a psychedelic disco epic built on finger snaps, synth-strings, spastic jazz-fusion synths and one of the fiercest slap-bass grooves since Patrice Rushen's 1982 classic 'Forget Me Nots'.

", citing the "repetitive, hypnotic hook and airy vocals that sail over the song’s booming synth" as a reason why.

[8] Allison Sadlier of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the song stays true to the duo's disco-reminiscent "modern techno-style" sound and "makes for [a] dance worthy listen.