[2] Nisha Gopalan from Entertainment Weekly wrote about the track listing, "Practically every song is a near-perfect amalgam of straight-up melodies and pogoing beats.

"[3] Alec Hanley Bemis from Blender found criticism in Leo's fast-paced delivery causing his lyrics to feel hazy and lose energy after the first three tracks but praised his musical pastiche of '70s pub rock and '80s punk, along with "a half-dozen modern swing and shuffle rhythms", calling it "a pop-punk update on Springsteen".

[5] Rolling Stone's Jon Caramanica commended Leo for clearing up his themes and sound while remaining a vocal presence but found the attention to politics muted.

[11] Pitchfork contributor Rob Mitchum saw the record moving away from Hearts of Oak's "more aggressively percussive approach," noting the scaling back of Leo's idiosyncratic musical repertoire, the presence of backing band the Pharmacists and the political aspects of the songs being hampered by "unrepresentative cliché-driven lyrical content," but said "while disappointing, Shake the Sheets remains better than most of its current brethren in indie cryostasis.

"[9] On February 13, 2024, Leo announced they will perform the album in its entirety as part of a 20th anniversary tour, starting on June 19 at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and finishing on November 16 at The Belasco in Los Angeles.