[7] In an interview with Jake Denning, drummer Chad Butler said: "It's been interesting you know – typically a Switchfoot record will start with Jon [Foreman] and a guitar, then we'll build the framework of a song around that.

"[8] According to Jon Foreman, the album will feature some Switchfoot friends, including his Fiction Family bandmate Sean Watkins and his sister Sara Watkins, saxophonist Karl Denson and Charlie Peacock (the co-producer of "Dare You to Move", who discovered Switchfoot and signed the band to its first record deal): "We want to just kind of pull on different people who play other instruments and can add colors to the score that we would never be able to add.

In each of 45 American cities, Switchfoot fans are going to see a special screening of the Fading West film, serving as the opening act for an intimate live show.

"[23] Christian Broadcasting Network's Hannah Goodwyn rated the album four spins, believing that "Fading West continues to push Switchfoot across lines, genres and cultures.

[27] At New Release Tuesday, Mary Nikkel rated the album four-and-a-half stars, and called this a "suitable sound" at this juncture of the group's history, which this stage comes in with the band showing they are "more full of vivacious energy, wide-eyed joy, and earnest hope than ever before.

"[30] Also, The Phantom Tollbooth's Michael Dalton rated the album three-and-a-half tocks, stating that "this has much more colour than the early and mid-period Switchfoot, but despite the fine production work, there are not as many great songs here as on either of the last two releases.

"[32] At Christian Music Review, Amanda Brogan rated the album four stars, and noted that "Switchfoot delivers a new level of transparency, giving us a glimpse into their world while encouraging us in our own journeys.

"[33] CM Addict's Kelcey Wixtrom rated the album four-and-a-half stars, and alluded to how the release was akin to a "long road of finding who you are, learning to love through fear, understanding forgiveness, and starting again.

"[35] However, Caleb Caldwell of Slant Magazine rated the album two-and-a-half stars, and noted that "Jon Foreman's ability to write hook-laden melodies remains, and he's an often poetic and perspicacious lyricist, but the themes of redemption and hope on Fading West are too abstracted, frequently degenerating into cliché".

[2] At American Songwriter, Hal Horowitz rated it likewise, and highlighted that "the bulk of these songs feature clichéd lyrics and arm-waving call and response construction".