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Mike Sauve of Exclaim! wrote that "the problem is that Earle's melancholy has taken primacy over his songwriting, which is uncharacteristically generic here, making this subdued and plodding release a career low." Grant Golden of Paste wrote, "For all of the somber overtones to Absent Fathers, there's still plenty of hopefulness within this record ... ne can only hope that this landing means that he's as comfortable with self-exploration and transparency in the future as he's been on Single Mothers and Absent Fathers, because if so then the best of Earle may still be yet to come."