At the end of his supporting tour for Love Letter,[1] Kelly underwent emergency throat surgery in July 2011 to drain an abscess on one of his tonsils.

[11] Nitush Abebe of New York observes "frictionless glide and delicacy, all the strings and horns caressing around the margins, of late-seventies Philly soul greats and Quincy Jones productions.

"[12] Kelly sings in a high register on the song, which Greg Kot views "evok[es] the boyish innocence of a Michael Jackson over a stepping dance groove accented with finger snaps.

[35] August Brown of the Los Angeles Times dubbed it "the best grown-man dance record of the year" and stated, "the songwriting is, per usual at this point in his career, nimble and nicely matured.

"[33] Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone called its music "virtuoso pastiche – but Kelly's Seventies are freakier than your dad's.

"[34] Maura Johnston of The Village Voice viewed "Clipped Wings" as its strongest track and compared the album to Love Letter, stating "it's slightly less drenched in retro tropes, but it's no less of an enjoyable listen.

"[17] Miles Marshall Lewis of Spin felt that "the result distills the melodies and lyrical flair fans love without the NC-17 lines that often make Kelly NSFW.

"[14] Andy Gill of The Independent found Kelly "even more at home" musically than on Love Letter and stated, "for all his production skills, he remains first and foremost a vocal stylist of considerable ability".

"[36] Allmusic's Andy Kellman complimented the music's "warmth and joy" and stated, "It's apparent that he can be retro and urbane as instinctively as he can be cutting edge and filthy.

"[12] In a mixed review, Jon Caramanica of The New York Times dubbed the album Kelly's "least ambitious" and found it "tepid" by his standards, "which is to say, completely technically accomplished, but lacking the snakelike vocal slither and moist subject matter that mark him at his most virtuosic.

"[9] Slant Magazine's Eric Henderson panned its music as "this-porridge-is-just-right uptempo mush" and questioned its genuineness, writing that "even if the songs sound like the height of artifice ... there's little doubt [Kelly] believes in his own hollow offerings.

"[11] Pitchfork Media's Jess Harvell observed "a fine line between breezy and half-assed" in the songwriting and criticized its "cut-rate production choices" behind "Kelly's engaged vocal performances.

"[15] Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune called it "a less-consistently strong sequel" and stated, "Listeners may find themselves toggling between questioning Kelly’s sincerity and admiring his facility as a producer and singer.