Melody Maker said "this is the kind of record that puts everything else into perspective" and that "this is rock at its most liberated and free-flowing,"[1] whilst Creem described the band and their sound unequalled.

[8] According to Julie Taraska, writing in The Rough Guide to Rock, Veil "supplanted R&B rhythms with crunched sonic shards,"[9] whilst Trouser Press describe the album as containing "wavering density and stylistic peregrinations.

Tunes like "Mood Swing", "Not in This Life", "Trouble Spot" and the sublime "Blind" unfurl sharp, both melodies over stick-in-your-head ensemble riffs.

Guitarists Poss, Anne Husick and Mark Lonergan are also developing a noisier, nastier, but still coherently thematic brand of collective improvisation, showcased in the instrumental rave "Trollbinders Theme".

Susan Stenger's bass frequently states the melody, while Ron Spitzer's drums knock out precision patterns that mesh with the guitars.

Far more experimental in approach than their previous albums, the rewards are revealed with repeated listening as the complexity of the songs' interior structures becomes more transparent.

The curious thing is that our interest in composers such as Phill Niblock, Alvin Lucier, John Cage and Christian Wolff was banished from our contemporaries of the late 80s; It would become fashionable only years later.

The lyrics are often lost, like a lone figure in a field beneath a thundering, searing cloud of sound, with only the refrain echoing softly.

"[6] "Not in This Life", "Trouble Spot", the "sublime" "Blind" and the aforementioned "Mood Swing" all "unfurl sharp, both melodies over stick-in-your-head ensemble riffs.

"[11] "Trollbinders Theme" is an "instrumental rave" that shows the trio of guitarists' developing "noisier, nastier, but still coherently thematic brand of collective improvisation.

According to Martin Charles, writing in The Great Indie Discography, "unfortunately, success is the one thing that has eluded the Band of Susans and Co. throughout their decade-plus lifespan.

Tunes like "Mood Swing", "Not in This Life", "Trouble Spot" and the sublime "Blind" unfurl sharp, both melodies over stick-in-your-head ensemble riffs,"[7] and said that "mayhem and transcendence, sweetness and bite: The thought of what these people might accomplish with a more substantial recording budget is almost frightening.

[11] He concluded, "all hail the overdriven amp, the feedback-saturated guitar pickup, the hum of harmonic sustain, the clamorous collision of power chords in the heart of the sonic maelstrom.

Susan Stenger's bass frequently states the melody, while Ron Spitzer's drums knock out precision patterns that mesh with the guitars.

"[21] The NME were also very favourable, saying "it's about an enduring love of guitars that borders on potential deafness, about having the last passionate embrace of rock n roll s blistered sorry being.

Chris Parker of Allmusic rated the album four and a half stars out of five and said although not "perhaps not as immediately compelling as The Word and the Flesh, the band members are nonetheless at the top of their game, expanding the margins of their sound.