In describing producer Jenn Decilveo's influence on the album, the band said, "She made us yell louder than ever, would pretty much force us to do guitar solos every second she could and I think just helped us find our new sound identity.

The video features each band member separately teaching how to play their own part in the song, as they are practicing social distancing during the pandemic.

[9] While the band was initially wary of giving an overly basic tutorial, they wanted it to be accessible to women and girls learning instruments for the first time.

[15] In an advance review of The Prettiest Curse for NME, Hannah Mylrea said, "Blending growling riffs worthy of The Strokes with soaring melodies and a generous dash of the band's no-fucks-given attitude, it's a break-neck 30 minutes of glorious chaos.

"[7] Writing for the Hampstead & Highgate Express, Stephen Moore called the album Hinds's "best record yet", writing that it is "highly listenable chart fodder, the lyrics centering on highly dysfunctional kidult relationships, and opens a record which explores the fertile crossovers between garage rock, disco, sampling, synth-pop and more.

"[26] In his "Consumer Guide" column, Robert Christgau hailed the album as "the charming maturation of these club kids who've mastered pop songcraft".

He found that Hinds "emote ever more catchily about their ever twistier love lives" and "ponder possibilities that have gotten so much chancier" in the wake of a pandemic that gives the release a sharp poignancy.