[13][14] Writing for Pitchfork, Cameron Macdonald noted that Russell's style of cello playing, often improvised, makes use of sporadic, imaginary sounds like "hollow thuds, window-washing brushes, chipped strings, knuckled knacks, and the boom of a floor peg dropping on concrete".

[11] Dusted also commented on the album's "skeletal framework", with "bare melodies rising to the surface, vocal lines encompassing wordless singing" and "constantly shifting textures swirling throughout".

In a 1987 review for Melody Maker, David Stubbs positively described the music as "a fuzz, a blur, a rich, throbbing pulse, a signal in space", and Russell's vocals as "clotted, opaque, word-shapes in the clouds", noting a kinship with John Martyn's 1973 album Solid Air.

[19] Jonathan Romney of NME stated that "World of Echo contains some of Russell's golden greats, but the catch is that they're virtually unrecognisable", and also made a comparison to John Martyn "at his spaciest".

[20] More negatively, a Q review by Andy Gill said, "On this LP, unfortunately, the imagination displayed on the three mixes of [previous dance single] 'Let's Go Swimming' is all but completely absent", and that the titles of the songs "betray Arthur as just another art bore caught on the less meaningful fringes of New Age muzak.

[22] Stylus Magazine opined that the album "still appears fantastic, implausible, and above all, fresh," claiming that "Russell's tapestries of electro-acoustic syncopation and free-associative song can still be heard" in styles such as IDM, minimal techno, modern psychedelia, and freeform acoustic music.

[9] All tracks are written by Arthur RussellPeople involved in the making of this album include:[24] In 2016, American rapper and producer Kanye West sampled a section from Russell's "Answers Me" in his song "30 Hours".