The album received acclaim from music critics, who praised the careful fusion of Lucky Soul's influences.

[2] As the group wrote songs, lyrics came from Laidlaw and drummer Ivor Sims, and other members prepared the instrumentation.

[6] He had a stated desire to balance retro influences with modern production techniques, explaining, "I love the old gear, but it's blinkered if that's all you use.

[3][5] Music critics noted similarities to alternative dance band Saint Etienne in Howard's affectionate presentation of tragic lyrics.

The Independent on Sunday remarked that despite an initial period of hype "so long that one began to wonder whether they would ever actually deliver…The Great Unwanted is an immediate classic".

"[9] PopMatters noted that many other independent bands had released works patterned after Motown girl groups but that "none has done it as completely and confidently as Lucky Soul does here, with as full a sense of the many dimensions one song can have.

Metro wrote that there was a "mischievous sense of pastiche here in the careful calibration of retro references" but that the band "incorporate this knowingness with such disarming ease".

"[13] Uncut stated that although the band "may appear a bunch of whimsical pastiche-mongers…their debut performs the rare feat of meticulously acknowledging its inspirations—The Chiffons and The Shangri-Las via Dusty Springfield—while also transcending them.

[18] BBC Radio 1 DJ Colin Murray, who supported the Ain't Never Been Cool EP, predicted the album would win the 2007 Mercury Music Prize; however, it failed to make the shortlist.

[19][20] Believing it would be difficult to attract the attention of a major label, the band decided to self-release the album through their own Ruffa Lane Records.

Luis Calvo, owner of Madrid-based independent label Elefant Records, found Lucky Soul through the Internet and asked about releasing The Great Unwanted in Spain.