on metacritic, "red pill blues" has a score of 58 from eight reviews, indicating "generally mixed or average reviews" from music critics. stephen thomas erlewine from allmusic wrote that after setting aside the album's title and cover, "red pill blues" can be taken as a "sleek, assured affair, one that sustains a seductive neon-streaked mood from beginning to end". he found their "modern sheen" to contain "strong song foundations" which in turn makes it not "play like a collective rhythmic and melodic hook in search of an ear: each cut unfolds with its own internal logic, with the different textures playing nicely off each other". "entertainment weekly"s madison vain described the album as the "best and most cohesive set of the decade" due to the group collaborating with a "murderers’ row of hot 100 collaborators" which "ensures there's hardly a stale moment". "rolling stone"'s jon dolan found adam levine capably nauncing the "top 40 old-soul navigating whatever the pop-music moment throws his way" role as he "works well alongside young talent to prove himself as a "pliant star of jacksonian ease and stingly self-assurance". taylor weatherby of "billboard" wrote that the record "presents the most electronic production the band has seen to date" in the "classic maroon 5 fashion" through "supplementing the synthy bass lines with irresistible beats and smooth vocals", while commending the collaborations and the lyrical portrayals of "relationship talk". ludovic hunter-tilney from the "financial times" said that although feminist listeners "may struggle to discern solidarity" in certain suggestive track couplets, the album still "makes its way through the minefield" since its "smooth high vocals and catchy tunes" gives the songs "a degree of charm" while its "deft production lends depth to the slick music".