Body Talk, Pt. 1 received generally positive reviews from most music critics. At
Metacritic, which assigns a
normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an
average score of 76, based on 23 reviews. Heather Phares of
AllMusic stated, "Capturing the freedom and loneliness of independence,
Body Talk, Pt. 1 is a concise set of songs on its own, and an impressive first third of the whole ambitious project." Marc Hogan of
Pitchfork raved, "With
Body Talk Pt. 1, [...] Robyn doesn't just walk the line between what she has called the 'commercial' and 'tastemaker' realms. She obliterates it. Immaculately
produced, fantastically sung, and loaded with memorable
choruses, this eight-song effort has plenty to please everyone from post-
dubstep crate diggers to teen
tweeters—often at the same time."
The A.V. Clubs Genevieve Koski opined that it is "an album about aligning your heartbeat with the pulse of strobe lights and
basslines, embracing synthetic sounds as a conduit for genuine emotion. Robyn's icy, controlled vocals and cool synth textures are almost alienating in their precision, but there's a beating pulse underneath the dance-bot artifice that captures the celebratory
catharsis that can be found on the dance floor." Michael Cragg of
musicOMH wrote that with
Body Talk Pt. 1, Robyn is "ready to finally take her place at
pop's top table of greats."
The Guardians Michael Hann commended Robyn for her "defiant independence of spirit and her versatility within the pop idiom".
Spin magazine's Jessica Hopper believed that on
Body Talk Pt. 1, Robyn "confidently chronicles the heartbreak ('Dancing on My Own') and pleasure ('Dancehall Queen') of epic
disco nights like she's ready to rule."
Will Hermes of
Rolling Stone called the album "near-perfect" and concluded, "Capped with a Swedish folk gem,
Body Talk shows a dancehall queen with more than just blonde ambition."
Slant Magazine critic Sal Cinquemani commented that "[t]he bulk of the album is stiff beats and in-your-face bluster that attempt to portray Robyn as more impenetrable machine than flesh-and-blood sweetheart." He added that "it also comes fully loaded with more hooks than your average pop album's entire tracklist." In a review for
PopMatters, Jer Fairall expressed particular appreciation for the track "Fembot", and stated that "
Body Talk, Pt. 1 shows Robyn working with the same tools that have served pop
divas quite well since at least as far back as
Madonna, if not earlier." However, he also noted that "[n]ot all of
Body Talk, Pt. 1 works", referring to "Dancehall Queen" as "the only real bomb". Luke Lewis of
NME called the album "impressive, but thin at eight tracks", while concluding, "Would it not have been better to hold back, and release just one, truly stunning record?" Matthew Horton of
BBC Music felt that the album "triggers the sense Robyn's holding something back" and that it "houses so much
filler", but nevertheless described "Fembot", "Dancing On My Own" and "Cry When You Get Older" as "scorchingly catchy, and laced with Robyn's familiar cordial of sparkling hook mixed with unutterable poignancy." ==Track listing==