Substream's Joel Funk writes, "The music is pulsing and infectious and works in perfect juxtaposition with the hyper-personal nature of the lyrics and the cynical, sarcastic feeling of the vocal delivery". Following the release of their single Bad Things in late 2019, the band began touring with Rise Record's label mates Angels & Airwaves. Clash Magazine debuted the song as their Track of The Day on November 11, 2019, writing, "There's a certain alienation that runs through Mid Western art; growing up there isn't easy, but neither is leaving. That's where Social Animals come in. Hailing from Duluth, their delicious indie pop has a bittersweet edge, this pang of introversion that makes for something bracing. Literate and intoxicating, it's very much entwined with a certain time, a certain place, while reaching towards the universal at every turn".