American musician Dominique Leone reviewed Soon Over Babaluma for Pitchfork, writing that he "was constantly surprised at how clear everything sounded, as if the band had recorded all of this stuff in one fell swoop during an unbelievably inspired, marathon session.

One of the great things about Can ... was the attention to detail and realization that the effect of each tiny moment in the course of a song can affect the momentum of the entire piece.

[5] In his review for Allmusic, American music journalist Ned Raggett stated that "With Suzuki departed, vocal responsibilities were now split between Karoli and Schmidt.

Wisely, neither try to clone Mooney or Suzuki, instead aiming for their own low-key way around things", giving the album a rating of four stars out of five.

[2] Robert Christgau was less impressed in The Village Voice, comparing its "singularly European" music to a less interesting, less biting variation on Miles Davis' 1970s electric period: "It's never pompous, discernibly smart, playful, even goofy.