R&B singer-songwriter Frank Ocean released a cover version of the song on his 2011 mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra to positive reviews from critics, and later performed it during his 2012 Coachella Music Festival appearance and his 2012 Channel Orange tour.

[5] "Strawberry Swing" contains multiple elements of Touareg, afro-pop and highlife music, and is largely built around handclaps, plucked, clean guitars, rhythmic cellos and distant organs and keys.

[7] Alexis Petrdis of The Guardian stated the track had "certainly a wider sonic palette on offer", musing that the song contained a "jerkily funky beat and a vaguely African-sounding guitar line",[8] though also noted many of the track's shared traits with Coldplay's previous discography; namely its mid-tempo, echoing guitars, piano ballad-inspired melodies and bittersweet, anthemic, falsetto vocals.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic stated that the track, with its light, "gently infectious melody and insistent rhythmic pulse, breaks from the album's appealingly meditative murk.

"[9] Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly described the song as "ebullient", and mused that the track "throws Afrocentric guitar atop one of those Eno/Dravs soundscapes beautifully".

[10] Pitchfork Media's Ryan Dombal reported that "the Gabriel connection is also apparent on the spectacular, wide-eyed 'Strawberry Swing', which floats light tribal drums above circular guitars and Martin's idyllic musings.

"[11] Evan Sawdey of PopMatters wrote that the guitar playing that populate "Violet Hill" and "Strawberry Swing" sound "like that for the first time in the band's career, Coldplay is actually using the ludicrous studio budget that they're provided with each for release, here indulging in every passing whim and fancy, all while Eno serves as the playground supervisor, the results proving to be as potent as they are varied.

"[12] IGN's Chad Grischow wrote that the track "blends spectacularly with Martin's calming, 'It's such a perfect day', refrain" and noted that "when the jangling acoustic guitar drifts in near the conclusion, it is the cherry on top of a killer tune".

[17] In September 2009, the originality of the Shynola-directed video was questioned by singer-songwriter Andy J Gallagher; he argued that "Owen Trevor had virtually the same idea at least a year before.

"[19] The PDF also contained image-by-image rebuttals of Gallagher's claims, and added that the video was mainly inspired by the "dreamlike weirdness" of animator Winsor McCay's artwork.

"[28] Music critic Robert Christgau felt that Ocean's cover was superior to the original, stating that it's "where the alienated young R&B pro rewrites the sappy Coldplay single without underplaying its lyricism or, as promised, its nostalgia.