At
Metacritic, which assigns a
weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics,
Indie Cindy received an average score of 62 based on 32 reviews; this indicates "generally favorable reviews". while
Fact said it was "comfortingly familiar, consistent and enjoyable, as well as totally uninspired" and that it "plays just like one of Black’s solo efforts, but with better session players: good, yes, but never great." Chris Todd of
The Line of Best Fit felt that "[a]ll the components are there,
Joey Santiago’s guitar work is still impressive, Lovering’s drumming is still vigorous, but the problem is Black Francis himself. The compelling songwriting that completed Pixies is no longer there." Phil Hebblethwaite of
NME gave the album a positive review, while noting Deal's departure causing some songs to resemble Black Francis' solo work, he also believed "[h]er departure let Black Francis, guitarist Joey Santiago, drummer
David Lovering and stand-in bassist
Simon ‘Ding’ Archer loose, and, at its best, like on ‘Bagboy’, ‘
Indie Cindy’ is free-sounding, adventurous and explosive." Stephen M. Deusner of
Paste was dismissive of the album, saying "
Indie Cindy represents either an act of masochistic bravado, a display of stark determination, or—and this is the worst option—an act of blindered ignorance" and felt "[w]hat makes Indie Cindy so egregious, so much worse than a simply bad album, is how much better it could have been." Helen Brown of
The Telegraph noted "[t]he result is not bad: though you miss the unpredictable blasts of raw hellfire from the cult classic
Surfer Rosa era, the band find some gritty, grindy melodies in the bigger, slicker vein of 1991’s patchy
Trompe Le Monde." == Track listing ==