The album's first single, "Go to War", topped the Billboard US Mainstream Rock Songs chart in November 2017.
[7] Generally, the band members would work separately in different rooms of the house, recording their respective parts and then sharing them with each other through Google Drive.
[9] The band co-wrote two songs with guitarist Clint Lowery of Sevendust - "Tunnels" and "Funny Little Creatures", who also contributed guitar to the tracks as well.
[13] Some lyrics were inspired by people met by Hawkins at a grief counselling session he attended with his father over the death of his mother.
[12][7] Another large influence on the album's writing was Hawkin's frustrations with the social and political climate leading up to the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.
[16] HM Magazine described the album as "blending hooks that could be straight out of pop anthems with hardcore guitar riffs, mathcore rhythms, and perfectly executed balance between clean and dirty vocals.
"[7] Loudwire described the track "Let 'Em Burn" as being a high energy song with "forceful" drums, "catchy beat", and vocals that start as a "garbled guttural voice" before erupting into a full scream.
[28] At the end of 2017, the CEO of the band's record label mentioned future plans of releasing "Just Say When" as a single as well.
Loudwire described it as one of their best reviewed albums of 2017, stating "The Stories We Tell Ourselves isn't so much a gigantic leap forward for the San Antonio, Texas based alternative act as it is a showcase in maturity in both musicianship and in singer Jonny Hawkins ripping it out over the grinding grooves, much of them courtesy of guitarist Mark Vollelunga...To say that Nothing More has cranked it up a few notches since their major label debut four years ago would be a disservice to just how much they've shifted things into the stratosphere.
[2] Alternative Press praised the album for having "more hooks, more layers, more feeling—more everything" and concluded that "While the divisive nü-metal influences remain, the diversity of mood, tone and instrumentation makes for a deeper, more fluid and more engaging collection.
[32] Metal Hammer/Team Rock praised the album for covering so many different styles of rock music across such a long album (18 songs), concluding that "Eighteen tracks is a long time to stay interesting, but Nothing More nail it...The Stories We Tell Ourselves can only be described as an expertly executed musical buffet.
"[16] HM Magazine praised the band's ability to be socially aware while avoiding rock music stereotypes and tropes with the album, concluding that "Nothing More has created something important with Stories.
Like many socially-aware punk, metal or rock acts that have come before them, Nothing More reinforces the need to touch on social constructs, relationships, and the complexity of carrying on a family bloodline.