The album was also influenced by spaghetti Western soundtracks as well as the works of Arthur Russell, Igor Stravinsky, Scott Walker, Caetano Veloso, Faron Young and Terry Riley.

[15] The Land Is Inhospitable was previewed early in a series of "double feature" listening events at theatres in the United States, London and Australia on September 7, 2023.

The events were accompanied by the screening of a film personally selected by Mitski: either Days of Heaven (1978), Desert Hearts (1985), Drugstore Cowboy (1989) or La Strada (1954).

[18] Mojo felt that "Mitski has long stared at happiness and wondered what comes next; here, she spies it, smiles and then shrugs, the smart band beneath glowing like some warmth hearth on a cold Los Angeles Night".

[7] Rho Chung of The Skinny called the album "a sweeping musical epic spanning essential facets of human experience; a meditation on self-witnessing, of owning one's estrangement" as well as "far-reaching but never vague – true to form, Mitski's writing remains supremely evocative, mesmerising".

[19] Clash's Amelie Grace called it "Mitski at her most emotionally raw" and stated that the album "goes through a constant battle of peace and dread, [...] staunchly refusing to settle in any one place".

[20] Mia Hughes of NME wrote that the album "does away with the glossy sheen and favours hushed intimacy" as Mitski "return[s] to a more organic and analogue sound" with "sonics [that] feel worn-in and earthly".