Music critics complimented the tune for its hooks and spirit, and "The Ghosts of Beverly Drive" was a radio hit in the United States, reaching the top five on Billboard's rock and alternative rankings.

[9] Electronic pulses and synthesizers take a forefront in the song, part of an increasingly natural textural focus for the band, according to bassist Nick Harmer.

In the in black and white-shot clip,[12] the members of the band play employees of a celebrity tour bus company in Los Angeles, cruising tourists around the city's ritziest neighborhoods in search of stars.

James Montgomery at Rolling Stone wrote that the video "explore[s] the sense of separation that's so prevalent in a city like Los Angeles, where societal divides are often as apparent as the ivy-covered walls surrounding a Bel-Air mansion.

[16] The band promoted the song and album with a performance on the late-night programs The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon[17] and Conan.

[23] Evan Sawdey at PopMatters praised its energy,[24] while Colin Stutz at Billboard called the song "a moving number from the band that’s no stranger to literary lyrics, as frontman Ben Gibbard leads listeners along a winding metaphor propped up by lush production.