In the track, Ellis-Bextor sings with restrain, incorporating a low register in the verses and hitting her highest note in the chorus.

As with the rest of Wanderlust, "Young Blood" was composed by the English musician Ed Harcourt, with additional songwriting from Ellis-Bextor.

[6][8] For Time Out magazine, Clare Considine described "Young Blood" as a "delicate love song" and opined that the strings and piano melodies effectively complement Ellis-Bextor's vocals.

[9] Michael Cragg of The Guardian stated that the song's sonority "fits [Ellis-Bextor] like a glove", and also deemed its melody "gorgeous".

[3] James Gareth from Clash characterised the song as "sincerely beautiful", and Digital Spy's Robert Copsey agreed, calling it "doe-eyed" and "fantastically pretty".

[7][10] From Virgin Media, Matthew Horton called the track "heart-stinging",[11] while Hermoine Hoby, writing for The Observer considered that the song is "surprisingly successfully" similar to the works of Adele.

[5] Louise Bruton from The Irish Times wrote that Ellis-Bextor's "icy vocals forgive[d]" the "blunders" of Wanderlust, while musicOMH's Kate Bennett provided a polarized review for the song.

[4][12] David Farrell, writing on behalf of PopMatters, commented that "Young Blood" was the best of the album and highlighted Ellis-Bextor's vocal performance.

Those scenes are interspersed with clips of her sat on a red sofa, wearing a "buttoned up, Victorian-styled lace dress" inside a lounge room.