[13] A five-star review from Helen Brown in The Independent called this work "an unsentimental spine-tingler of an album from a pirate crew of against-the-odds survivors" and that Ellis "whittled such elegant woody melodies around her words that it sounded like he'd carved her a Viking funeral barge".

[14] In The Irish Times, Siobahn Kane scored this album 4 out of 5 stars, stating that "Ellis's version of musique concrète (featuring Nick Cave on piano and Brian Eno contributing some sound textures) [adds] something quite special" to Faithfull's voice.

[15] At musicOMH, Matt Cotsell rated this album 4.5 out of 5 stars, stating that "the poems selected are a treat for fans with extensive knowledge of the Romantics and equally for those with none" and that "a large part of that gratification comes from Ellis's charismatic score".

[3] Writing for Pitchfork Media, Daniel Felsenthal rated this album a 6.7 out of 10, calling it "a passion project of the highest order" that "doesn't do a whole lot to transcend" its basic concept of poetry reading and he compares Ellis' instrumentation to Ghosteen.

[18] The Sydney Morning Herald's Bruce Elder gave this release 4 out of 5 stars, for being "a towering benchmark" that "works brilliantly" as "a haunting collection of indescribably beautiful poetry read in Faithfull's husky, melancholy and deeply emotional voice, and backed, for the most part, by discreet washes and waves of sonic sepia, played mostly on violin".