ludovic hunter-tilney of the "financial times "praised the nostalgic "floydian" sound, reminiscent of pink floyd's work prior to "the wall ("1979), and wrote: "how fitting that a band so accustomed to loss should close their account with an engrossing elegy to their own past." cameron cooper of "the music" gave the album three and a half out of five, writing that it felt "less like a swansong and more like a final homage ... the lack of vocals gives the music more freedom, allowing it to speak for itself". in "the guardian", alexis petridis described it as "not a new album from an extant band, but an echo from the past – or a last, warm but slightly awkward group hug ... on those terms, it works just fine". he praised the lead single and final track "louder than words" as "stately, poignant and open-hearted". in "rolling stone, "david fricke wrote:" ""wright was the steady, binding majesty in the floyd's explorations. this album is an unexpected, welcome epitaph." "the observer" wrote that the album is "an understated affair but unmistakably the floyd ... a pretty good way to call it a day."