Working with producer Justin Gerrish and recorded in New York City, the album has been described by frontman Matt Bowman as coming from a "mature" slant.

[2] In a review for AllMusic, Jon O'Brien said: "Described as a rallying call to guitar bands by Bowman, Up, Guards and at 'Em isn't distinctive or original enough to inspire anyone to swap their synths for a six-string, and instead, sounds more like a final nail in the British indie coffin than the shot in the arm it needed.

"[4] At NME Tim Chester explained: "Those three seconds of stuttering electronica simply take their reputation for leftfield experimentalism too far.

Thankfully, such wilful pretension buggers off, and the rest is a more quality-controlled set than last time of big-chorus.

"[1] Ben Weisz of MusicOMH wrote: "The latest effort is a progression, in that it's not straightforwardly another collection of variations on Take Her Back, but it's nothing spectacular either.