"Voices Carry" became the band's highest-charting single and their only top ten hit in the U.S., peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.

[6] 'Til Tuesday rehearsed that format in Boston the previous summer, but Epic was unhappy with the lyrics; they thought that it was a "very powerful, commercial song", and wanted to remove the lesbian components to appeal to the mainstream market.

[6] Despite the pressure to replace the lyrics, producer Mike Thorne thought that "it didn't matter any to the impact of the song itself", though the band eventually changed the gender of the love interest.

[6] At the beginning, 'Til Tuesday and Thorne were undecided between "Love in a Vacuum" and "Looking Over My Shoulder" to be released as the first single, but ultimately Epic's artist and repertoire (A&R) executive Dick Wingate chose "Voices Carry", because it "define[d] precisely the band and its style".

He was then told that it had been remixed by Bob Clearmountain; about this he commented, "not what the rules were ... but it sounded pretty good, as well it might coming from one of the finest American engineer/producers".

[8] Allmusic's Stewart Mason said that "'Voices Carry' is one of the most distinctive radio singles of its era"; he also praised the production saying that it "does wonders both for Mann's breathy voice and the ... chorus, which brilliantly releases the tension that builds throughout the stark, paranoid verses".

[9] Joe Viglione also from Allmusic, in a review of their debut album said that the song is "captivating", and praised its production saying that Mike Thorne did an "excellent work".

[11] Dennis Hunt of the Los Angeles Times said that Mann has "a distinct naturalism [that] governs her vocals" and that "the frailty, roughness and lack of great range in her voice ... [is] genuinely appealing", adding that if she were a "polished singer, songs like 'Voices Carry' ... wouldn't be half as appealing";[12] while Robert Hilburn of the same newspaper said that Mann "exhibits winning vocal authority on record", adding that the "only thing she needs is another Dave Stewart to give her more tailored and absorbing arrangements and material".

[13] Lynn Van Matre of the Chicago Tribune said that "much of the group's material falls into the dance rock category", adding that the "bluesy title cut, ... 'Voices Carry', was particularly impressive".

[18] The success of the single helped their debut album reach the top twenty on the Billboard 200 chart,[19] and pushed it past the gold mark.

[23] In Australia, "Voices Carry" entered the Kent Music Report on June 17, 1985; it peaked at number fifteen, and spent fourteen weeks on the chart.

The conclusion shows them formally dressed in an elite Carnegie Hall audience, the boyfriend giving Mann a disgusted look when he finds a visibly counter-culture rattail peeking from her black lace cap.

[28] Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times also praised Mann's acting, saying that she appears "marvelously charismatic" in it,[13] while Dennis Hunt from the same newspaper said that it was "cleverly conceived".

[32] Author Brent Mann in his book 99 Red Balloons..., called the video "pure New Wave" and added that it was "perfect for MTV and VH1 consumption".