Maria Sherman of NPR observed, "unlike the Sacramento band's riot grrrl contemporaries in the Pacific Northwest, Tiger Trap's sugar-y sweet punk was more in line with U.K. guitar pop bands like Talulah Gosh ("You're Sleeping"), critical of DIY punk's preference for phalluses and articulating that defiance with post-adolescent crush songs.

"[4] The Chicago Tribune opined that "terrific three-part harmonies and a brace of killer melodies make Tiger Trap one of the year's more consistently pleasurable albums.

In a 2005 essay called "Twee as Fuck", Pitchfork's Nitsuh Abebe "highly recommended" the album and highlighted two of its tracks, "Puzzle Pieces" and "My Broken Heart".

[10] The following year, the site's Jason Heller wrote that the album "embodies twee," but added that "it’s also a forceful, potent, consummately melodic complement to the more strident sounds of riot grrrl that were raging around them at the time.

Writer Philip Cosores saw its impact carry into numerous later groups like Allo Darlin', Veronica Falls, Colleen Green and Swearin'.