The album received generally positive reviews from critics. It has a score of 78 out of 100 on review aggregator website
Metacritic. Daniel Sylvester of
Exclaim! rated the album 7 out of 10, writing that "the fact that all 11 of the LP's songs were written by one person slightly hampers the album's sense of adventure, and [Neko] Case's phrasings no longer pop and stand out like they used to. Unfortunately, the octet's attempts to add musical flair to each song draws mixed reactions, as the synthetic strings of "Colossus of Rhodes" and "Leather on the Seat" give each song depth, but feel too high in the mix, to the point of distraction. But despite any nitpicky issues one may find with In the Morse Code of Brake Lights, it's refreshing to see the New Pornographers, 20 years into their existence, still trying to swing for the fences." For
Rolling Stone,
Will Hermes gave the album four out of five stars: "the hooks and the lyrics are as sharp as ever, too, the latter functioning as part anxious messages-in-bottles, part baroque bubblegum life preservers. It’s panic-attack pop, fretting its way through vintage good-time chord changes, and letting us know we’re not alone." ==Track listing==