[13] The Chicago Reader wrote that "Knight still sings in an unaffected warble that would make Linda Thompson proud, but this time the able production duo ... masterfully guide that voice on a long, colorful ramble.

"[16] No Depression thought that the album "arguably defines the moniker 'alternative country' and at the same time stomps on it, defying any genre tag anyone might throw out there.

"[11] Jon Pareles, of The New York Times, listed The Northeast Kingdom as one of 1998's best "underheard" albums, writing that "country meets its Celtic heritage in death-haunted songs of love and strife.

"[15] The Washington Post determined that "a strong undercurrent of reverberating guitars, harmonies and rhythms pushes a lot of the music far beyond the Nashville mainstream.

"[18] AllMusic called the album "extremely ambitious, smart mainstream pop with a lot of indie rock and country elements.