On its release,
Larry Flick of
Billboard described "Damage I've Done" as a "murky, oddly appealing rocker" and "derivative but undoubtedly hit-bound". He commented, "The band has clearly been listening to alterna-rock radio, given the way the track flows from sullen verses into screaming, distorted choruses." He noted the song's similarity to recent hits from artists such as
Tracy Bonham,
Alanis Morissette and
Hole. In a review of
No Talking, Just Head, David John Farinella of the
San Francisco Examiner considered the song to sound "more like an old Concrete Blonde song than a tune this band would have penned". Dirk Lammers of
The Tampa Tribune wrote, "Napolitano eases into 'Damage I've Done', then her grating voice slams into high gear on the chorus." Tom Long of the
Gannett News Service considered "Damage I've Done" to be the album's best track. He wrote, "Accompanied by fuzz guitar drones and a nice slinky bass riff, Napolitano moves between fear in the verse and hysteria in the treated chorus, trapped by her own life's indiscretions." ==Formats==