[11] AllMusic writer K. Ross Hoffman wrote that "her sound has a comfortingly homespun, unfussy quality, and a patient, uplifting serenity, that remain uniquely her own".

[6] Mark Richardson of Pitchfork awarded the album the site's "Best New Music" designation and felt that it "stands above her earlier work in virtually every way".

[12] Mojo praised it as "her most fully involved album, suffused with the warmth of fond memories and a deep, dream-like resonance",[10] while Uncut wrote: "The sense of naive wonder evident recalls the bewitching power of Sigur Rós.

"[15] Arnold Pan of PopMatters wrote, "Try as you might to explain Julianna Barwick's incomparable, indescribable music, maybe it's best to let The Magic Place do all the talking, because the results speak for themselves".

[16] In a mixed assessment, Slant Magazine's Kevin Liedel instead found the album to be "a beautiful, ambiguous diversion better suited as a companion soundtrack to some experimental film or art installation than as the debut for a promising young singer".