[5] Sarah Davis of Dotmusic gave "War of Nerves" four out of five stars, writing, "A distinctly heart-felt ballad, it's more soulful than most of their previous releases, including 'Never Ever' and while at first appears to go nowhere, is an engaging listen.

"[2] Conversely, Caitlin Moran of The Times believed "War of Nerves" proved that "Never Ever" was "a one-off, a glorious anomaly" and "the albatross around their necks".

[6] NME's Jim Firth derided it as "unfettered toss" and "a sawn-off version of the Lionel Richie song book", concluding, "No tune, no soul, no fun.

[8] In retrospective reviews, Jon O'Brien from AllMusic said "the gorgeous, sweeping strings of soulful ballad 'War of Nerves' have aged better than most of their contemporaries' output",[9] while The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan found the song forgettable.

Member Melanie Blatt's pregnancy was also written in the concept for the video as she would be shown singing in the shower, exposing her belly in a silhouette.