[10] Dan Weiss of Consequence of Sound wrote: "there's no formal breakthroughs on Trouble Maker beyond the astounding economy, unless you think the harmonica on "Buddy" or Clash-goes-"Ring of Fire" chords on "Telegraph Avenue" makes this the band's folk-punk album".

[6] Zoe Camp of Pitchfork resumed: "while Trouble Maker doesn't usurp the band's primordial peak, it's far and wide their strongest effort since 2000's excellent self-titled".

[8] Nick Roseblade of Drowned in Sound called the album "a return to force for Rancid, and is the musical equivalent of a football team winning a major trophy after years in the wilderness and the absolute elation that comes with that.

[7] In mixed reviews, AllMusic's Tim Sendra stated: "like their disappointing 2014 album ...Honor Is All We Know, Trouble Maker is the sound of a band going through the motions, telling the same stories over and over, bashing out the same riffs, and ultimately not connecting any punches".

The tracks written solely by Tim Armstrong were meant for his second solo album which was recorded with Matt Freeman on bass and Joey Castillo on drums.