Upon its release, Chris Roberts of
Sounds noted that the album "ring[s] with booms, croons and soaring falsettos, tripping dramatically over its own analytical word-play and inverted romantic clichés". He added that the lyrics were "among the most ambitious and involving I've encountered all year" and, while the duo's "own slick proficiency dilutes the active angst", there are "moments on this elegantly and eloquently presented record where the Lover Speaks transcend their mute mastery of the synthetic and fly with genuine emotional complexity". Colette Campbell of
Smash Hits stated, "This lot must be one of the drippiest cry-baby bands ever. Every song on the album is about the trials and tribulations of being 'in lurve'. The music actually sounds quite nice in a desperately gloomy synthesisery sort of way, so it's a shame they're so overwhelmingly serious and pretentious." Terry Atkinson of
Los Angeles Times remarked: "Though its ultra-romantic, stylishly emotional approach sometimes leads to Tears for Fears/Wham! mush, this new English duo bows with a frequently intriguing album. Freeman's hyper-emotional lead vocals are sometimes ludicrously overwrought, but all in all this collection is well worth checking out."
Cash Box listed the album as one of their "feature picks" during August 1986, calling it an "engaging set led by the interesting and captivating 'No More 'I Love You's". Kyle Swanson of the Canadian magazine
Nerve said: "Exquisitely produced by Jimmy Iovine,
The Lover Speaks is disturbingly likeable. It makes no pretense about being pretentious, and all ten tunes are pure love song pop - but state of the art. A vocal hook here, a sweeping melody there, and soon you're humming and smiling and thinking of sunsets. A supremely good make-out record,
The Lover Speaks is rare, stellar pop music." Stuart Coupe of
The Sydney Morning Herald said: "The Lover Speaks display the influences of early Motown, and a production style that has led to comparisons with Phil Spector. Well worth investigating." In a retrospective review, Michael Sutton of
AllMusic praised the "stylishly crafted, soulful pop" of "No More 'I Love You's", which he felt was "elevated by Freeman's booming voice". He wrote that "Absent One" and "Love Is: "I Gave You Everything" "surge with bruised emotions", while "Every Lover's Sign" and "Never to Forget You" "offer respite from all the melancholy confessions". He summarised: "...it's the stinging ache in tracks such as 'Face Me and Smile,' a tale of infidelity, that linger after the album has finished spinning." Imran Khan of
PopMatters described the duo's sound as a "baroque and windswept drama of romance and pop" and remarked that the album is "full of bouncy, ebullient grooves and an atmosphere of high drama which still maintains its charm nearly 30 years later". ==Track listing==