Jon O'Brien from
AllMusic noted the "
jazz-funk" of the song.
Everett True from
Melody Maker said, "'Express' kinda mixes in one of those cool jazz grooves so favoured by today's crop of happening young rappers with a female vocal which occasionally reminds me of The Lady,
Aretha Franklin herself." Pan-European magazine
Music & Media remarked that
Carroll "uses the
Bowie trick of implementing a weird noise just beyond the irritation factor. Very Dina-mic
dance stuff." Alan Jones from
Music Week gave it three out of five, writing that she "vamps it up on this
pop/
funk confection, one of the lesser tracks from her outstanding debut album
So Close." In a 2015 retrospective review, Pop Rescue felt that the singer's vocals are "whispery, sometimes sultry". Phil Shanklin of ReviewsRevues stated that it "is unlike anything else on the album. A funky track with a honking sax – Dina comes off like a one-woman
En Vogue in this club stomper."
James Hamilton from the
Record Mirror Dance Update called it a "choppy jiggler".
Adam Higginbotham from
Select described it as "solid, tastefully-cut
soul bleeding subtly into brisk
garage beats" and added that it is "careful funky". Another
Select editor, Rupert Howe, complimented the song's "aspiration towards funkiness". ==Track listing==