Larry Fitzmaurice of "Pitchfork Media" said, "the video is cinematic and features a really weird party where people are wearing masks." Katie Hasty of HitFix compared the video with the works by Annie Lennox and added that "the imagery will leave a mark on fans and aspiring fans to boot." Leah Collins of "Dose" also compared the video with Annie Lennoxs "Walking on Broken Glass". "Spin"s Marc Hogan wrote, "the video doesn't have the clearest plot, [but] it does depict Florence Welch dancing with masked, formally attired men, a visual that sparks comparisons to the posh orgy of Stanley Kubrick's film "Eyes Wide Shut", but a bacchanal does not break out. Instead, a white-dressed Welch escapes to the woods, while a red-dressed one parties inside with some seriously creepy people. 'I'm damned if I do, and I'm damned if I don't,' she sings." The band performed "Shake It Out" on 6 November 2011 during the eighth season of the British show "The X Factor". They also sang the song on "The X Factor Australia" on 15 November and on France's "La Musicale" on Canal+ on 18 November. Later, on 19 November 2011, they performed the song on "Saturday Night Live". "Shake It Out" was also performed on "Good Morning America" on 21 November 2011.