[10] The Guardian writer Mat Snow said the Zutons' "stylistic palette has moved on to 1972 (imagine early Roxy Music without [Bryan] Ferry or [Brian] Eno); the drums have punch, the instrumental textures a rounded warmth, and the band work hard to accentuate the songs with telling detail and ear-catching hooks".

[12] The Phoenix writer Brian E. King said McCabe's voice fluctuated between that of U2 frontman Bono and Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell,[8] while Snow thought it sat between Take That's Robbie Williams and Paul Heaton of the Beautiful South, "sound[ing like] a troubled soul, expressing frustration and dyspepsia in cleverly written kitchen-sink fantasies".

[4] PopMatters contributor Michael Keefe wrote that it is a story of "anxiety in a fast-paced world [that] pivots around an actual bus",[14] reminiscent of the Teardrop Explodes.

On closer inspection though, it's got black humour stamped right through it, with McCabe telling tales of locking his intended in a cellar and feeding her rodent hair".

[18] The album's closing track, "I Know I'll Never Leave", is a homage to the band's hometown of Liverpool;[16] Nick Hasted of Uncut said the song was about a "private dystopia in which the singer’s trapped inside a ghetto flat with floors that slash his skin".

[20] Two weeks later, the band appeared at the KOKO venue in London for a one-off show as part of the NME Awards, where they played six songs from their forthcoming album.

[23] Preceded by a show at the Hammersmith Apollo in London,[24] they appeared at various festivals over the next few months, including Creamfields,[25] Latitude,[26] T in the Park,[27] Wakestock[28] and Wireless.

[31] They intended to close out the year with two performances at the Roundhouse venue in London,[32] until this was expanded into a UK tour covering November and December 2006.

[10] The Observer's Rosie Swash wrote that it was "reassuringly familiar" as the "preference for substance over style that ensures Tired... puts their modish peers to shame".

[36] Emily Mackay of Playlouder referred to it as an "assured, almost cocky album, as if they've just located the sports button on what was formerly a reliable family estate of a band".

[17] Murphy, meanwhile, saw it as "delightfully quirky, original and catchy as its predecessor, whilst also representing something of a leap forward", adding that it was "commercial enough to also rope in some new admirers".

[14] Gigwise writer Chris Taylor said that despite it coming across as a group "struggling to shake off the pressures of following up the far-reaching success of their debut," the follow-up features "enough decent songs to offer hope for the future".

Murphy wrote that Street "helps to shape a big, positive feel to the album";[16] Mackay said this extended to Chowdhury's guitarwork, as it tries to "channel the spirit" of Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, and to McCabe's vocals.

[6] Alternative Press writer Erick Haight said Street's "crisp production keeps things smooth, yet big and ballsy, even if Abi Harding’s gritty sax takes a few steps back in the process".

[15] Gill was similarly let down by Street, "who does his usual solid, if unspectacular production job here", despite the poor writing,[37] which Stephen Ackroyd agree with as the "quirky edges have all been rounded off".

Club wrote that the Zutons went for the "big punch on album number two, and the result sounds like glam-rock without the glam—and pretty thin to boot, in spite of a preponderance of instrumentation".