The album was generally well received by critics upon release. Stuart Green of Canadian publication
Exclaim! gave it a positive review in March 2004, he wrote "with the addition of soulful
Roots bassist Ben Kenney and a tasty fusion of everything from
Faith No More-style
rap metal to the prog-noodling of
Rush (most notably on 'Sick Sad Little World', the album's standout track) to the earnest songwriting of, say,
the Beatles or the
Dave Matthews Band, this disc should establish them as the leaders of the new rock pack... at least in artistry if not sales."
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic awarded the album four-and-a-half out of five stars, claiming that, "at the beginning of their career, Incubus was rightly lumped in with the legions of post-
Korn alt metal/
rap-rock bands swarming America in the latter days of the 20th century", and that, "
A Crow Left of the Murder... is far more interesting than any of their other records, or their peers." Joshua Klein of
The Washington Post stated, "
A Crow Left of the Murder shows success has gone to the band's head, but only in the best sense. Here Incubus reverts to its weirder, wilder roots without abandoning its newfound pop appeal." Eric R. Danton of
The Baltimore Sun wrote in his February 2004 review, "alternative-metal bands have tended to embody self-absorption far more than self-awareness, and we've all seen how that has turned out: It's made
Fred Durst wealthy in inverse proportion to his talent. Incubus, at least, has avoided many of the petulant excesses that fuel
Limp Bizkit and
Linkin Park. With a few pop-savvy ballads and a hottie front man in Brandon Boyd, Incubus has even attracted an audience that encompasses more than surly teen-age boys." He added, "the alt-metal sound is mostly played out, but Incubus' determination to continue developing is clear here, and it will help to keep the band relevant in an increasingly splintered music scene." Scott Shetler of
Slant Magazine gave it four out of five stars, writing "like it or not, Incubus is the prototypical rock band for the 21st century, appealing equally to both sexes — they’re likable guys who write memorable songs and it doesn’t hurt that they’ve got a model for a lead singer." Shetler adds, "Incubus have never made any huge leaps in terms of their sound, but they’ve always managed to change it just enough to stay slightly ahead of the pack, and with
Crow they’ve simply done it again." In his review for the
Alive at Red Rocks CD/DVD, Alex Henderson of AllMusic claimed that "some fans of their early rap-metal/funk metal work see 2001's
Morning View and 2004's
A Crow Left of the Murder as a sellout." In a 2006 interview with
The New Zealand Herald, Brandon Boyd reflected, "it's funny because the way it's perceived around the world is vastly different. For some people
Crow was the best record we've ever done, but some people look at that record as a pause in our talent as a band."
Kerrang! ranked it as the second best Incubus album in 2020, and stated it "[was] the sound of Incubus maturing; finding ever-subtler applications for their melting pot of styles." Boyd also ranked it as his second favorite Incubus record in a 2022
Louder Sound article. ==Track listing==