[1] Due to COVID-19 restrictions to avoid gathering together, he rented a barn as a practice space where he workshopped songs on solo acoustic guitar.

[7] Editors at AllMusic rated this album 3.5 out of 5 stars, with critic Mark Deming writing that "these ten songs are open in their contemplation of death and its aftermath, the gnawing sense of loss, the anger and confusion brought on after losing a loved one, and the not-always-comforting contemplation of the afterlife" and summing up that "fans who have developed a taste for the sweet sadness of the Cowboy Junkies' best work may find Such Ferocious Beauty a bit strong and confrontational for their taste, but that's very much the point of this music; this isn't rooted in solace, but in exorcising the demons that come from losing loved ones, and it's a difficult but eloquent act of public mourning".

[8] Hal Horowitz of American Songwriter scored this album 4 out of 5 stars, stating that these songs "carve a distinctive sonic side road into a generally darker off-ramp of Americana" that "is provocative, artsy, but never pretentious, stuff".

[2] John Moore of Glide Magazine called this work "moody, sweet, sad, and strongly affecting sketches about growing older" and sums up that "though they’ve grown as musicians and songwriters over the decades, the core of the band’s sound is the same as it ever was".

[10] No Depression's John Amen wrote that this album "spotlights the Canadian quartet breaking new ground" and that "as a whole, is decidedly plaintive, though the band adeptly sidesteps fatalism, instead expressing adrenalized grief and engaging in philosophic inquiry".