It received a generally positive reaction from music critics, some of whom praised Giordano's production and change in Enigk's vocal style.

[8] Despite the addition of former Posies bassist Joe Skyward prior to the release of How It Feels to Be Something On,[7] the band re-grouped as a three-piece with Enigk handling bass.

In addition to their regular roles, each band member also played different instrumentation: Enigk played bass (on every track bar "Television"), piano ("Killed by an Angel", "Disappear", "Snibe", "Fool in the Photograph", "Television" and the title-track), keys ("Killed by an Angel", "Tearing in My Heart", "Faces in Disguise" and the title-track), vocoder ("Snibe"), Mellotron ("The Ocean") and drums ("Tearing in My Heart"); Hoerner played lap steel guitar ("Killed by an Angel") and bass ("Television"); and Goldsmith played percussion ("Snibe", "Fool in the Photograph", "Television", "Faces in Disguise" and the title-track) and sung vocals ("The Ocean" and "Faces in Disguise").

[21] It is followed by "One", a Pearl Jam-styled track that recalled "Three Days" by Jane's Addiction, with Enigk's vocals resembling Rush frontman Geddy Lee.

It featured violin by Stan Kurtis, Rachel Handman and Michelle Stewart; viola by Ryan Hall and Emily Schaad; and cello from Lisa Bressler.

[2] The statue on the cover of the album is Vancouver's "Bronze Angel", created by the Montréal sculptor, Coeur de Lion MacCarthy located at the former Canadian Pacific Railway Station.

The bronze war memorial depicting the angel of victory raising up a young soldier to heaven at the moment of his death.

[34] Amongst a series of issues, including the ending of Time Bomb's deal with Arista, problems with the group's management, advertising for The Rising Tide, and the need for a break, the band broke up in June.

"[16] Giorgano's skills provided the album an "unabashedly big, clean sound that frames Sunny Day's detailed songwriting and arrangements perfectly".

Club's Stephen Thompson said the "recurring nods to prog-rock" were "unsettling the first time through", however, "additional exposures reveal the beautiful, textured rock album within.

"[13] Rolling Stone writer Greg Kot said Giordano's "grandiose production ... matches the quasi-mystical visions mapped out in the songs.

[19] Mark Athitakis of New Times Broward-Palm Beach Giordano understood the group's dynamic, turning Goldsmith's drumkit sound like "cannonballs fir[ing] in a cathedral", and Enikg's "high-pitched voice into a truly melodic instrument rather than a banshee wail.

"[44] Orlando Weekly said it was the group's "finest work to date", coming across as "both anthemic and bombastic while still managing to be mysterious and off-kilter.

"[45] SonicNet's Jon Vena said Enigk's "wailing yelp is smoother here", though by the album's end his "high vocal timbre wears thin.

[41] Entertainment Weekly reviewer Laura Morgan said that "after only a few tracks, the nostalgic kick wears off, and the band’s bloated riffs quickly turn tiresome.

"[39] Pitchfork contributor Brent DiCrescenzo criticized Giordano's production as "magnify[ing] and spotlight[ed] the occasional songwriting errors", and the clearer emphasis on Enigk's vocals, which "can derail a track with one jutting word.

"[12] Billboard's Jonathan Cohen found it a "mixed blessing"; complimenting Giordano's "penchant for string flourishes, inch-thick synthesizer sheens", however, due to most of the "musical reference points" being "so curiously out of another era", it was "difficult to separate Enigk and ... Hoerner's quizzical lyrics from the accompanying sounds".