[7][8] Pitchfork critic Claire Lobenfeld described the style of The Noise Made by People as a homage of 1960s psychedelic pop;[1] meanwhile, Carlene Bauer of Salon characterised it as "electronic, but not shot full of skittering beats", noting Broadcast's approach of fusing "synthesized sounds and live instrumentation".

[3] Writing for The Washington Post, Mark Jenkins said that the album "combines dub atmospherics, sample-driven audio collage and Trish Keenan's icy vocals in the manner of Portishead.

[10] Awarding it a full score of five stars, AllMusic's Heather Phares called the album "shimmering, weightless pop" that "delivers [Broadcast]'s sound in widescreen, filmic grandeur.

Lauding its "untouchable otherness", Black wrote that it helped pave paths for accessible experimental music in the future.

[22] Stereogum's Nate Patrin wrote an essay on the album in response to its 20th anniversary, crediting it with introducing a "more sophisticated, less caricatured" psychedelia style to the new millennium.