It was nominated at the 2007 ARIA Music Awards for Best Country Album, but lost to Keith Urban for Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing.

[4] The recordings on Viridian, in particular the songs "River of Sand", "Waiting on the Night" and "When I Was in Love With You", were said to evoke the sounds of progressive folk rock that emerged in the 1960s.

[6] The lyrics on "When I Was in Love With You" were cited as among the most striking on Viridian, and were based in part by McLoughlin on a poem from the 1896 collection, A Shropshire Lad, by Alfred Edward Housman, the English poet.

"[5] In a review of Viridian, Embo Blake of Hybrid Magazine noted Carol Young's vocal skill, as she "effortlessly diphthongs cadence" on the track "Waiting On The Night".

[3] Bruce Elder of the Sydney Morning Herald called Viridian a tour de force,[15] and has said that the band may, after this album, be the best country music performers to ever come out of Australia.