Ladyhawke received generally positive reviews from music critics. At
Metacritic, which assigns a
normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an
average score of 70, based on 17 reviews. Ben Preece of
Time Off lauded the album as "a glorious ride through 80s-flavoured pop,
electro-fused beats and brilliantly infectious melodies". Simon Price of
The Independent noted that the album is "simultaneously very then and very now: it couldn't have been made any later than 1985, or any earlier than 2001." Dan Cairns of
The Sunday Times wrote, "Each of the 13 tracks has a chorus to kill for, and Brown's voice—
Kim Wilde meets
PJ Harvey—features an end-of-phrase exhalation that is sex on a microphone stand." Jon O'Brien of
AllMusic felt that "despite its blatant retro vibe, [the album] still manages to sound fresh thanks to its clever production and Brown's fiery and vibrant vocals." Nadine O'Regan of
Spin praised the album as "a confection of synth-infused, mammoth-chorused tunes that sound surprisingly and thrillingly fresh", adding that "[t]he trick lies in Brown's blissfully irony-free attitude: Through the digital wizardry and pumping beats, you can hear an unabashedly heartfelt and occasionally vulnerable artist."
The Guardians Jude Rogers raved that "Magic" "may be the best opening track on any album this year", while describing tracks like "Dusk Till Dawn", "My Delirium" and "Another Runaway" as "monumental". Elvissia Williams of
BBC Music compared the album to
John Hughes' 1985 teen film
The Breakfast Club and stated that "Ladyhawke's genius lays in her ability to distill the *spirit* of
Brat Pack-era America—its innocence, its wide-eyed euphoria, its unshakeable faith in happy endings." Mark Beaumont of
NME opined that Ladyhawke's "louche synthetic pop is brazenly
Bananarama, ridiculously
Rio, and wonderfully Pete Waterman|[Pete] Waterman, but the lack of posing—her sheer scruffiness—makes it the first credible '80s pop record since
ABC's
The Lexicon of Love." At
The Observer, Peter Robinson viewed the album as "an accessible but immensely rewarding listen, and while some of this singer's influences may be
middle of the road, her album isn't even on the road. It's storming across the desert on a nice red motorbike."
Pitchforks Mike Orme commented that "
Ladyhawke is brimming with ideas whose worst moments quantify this past and whose best build upon it." Despite dubbing Ladyhawke a "skillful craftswoman",
Rolling Stones
Jody Rosen concluded that "as with so much Eighties revivalism, there is a chilly emptiness to the exercise; most of the songs feel like fashion statements." Similarly, Emily Tartanella of
PopMatters found the album to be "willfully, occasionally wonderfully, over-the-top. But it's all style, and no substance, and so without the style, well, there's really nothing there."
Accolades The album earned Ladyhawke six
New Zealand Music Awards in 2009 for Album of the Year, Single of the Year for "My Delirium", Best Female Solo Artist, Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Best Dance/Electronica Album and International Achievement Award (shared with
Brooke Fraser), in addition to a nomination for Peoples' Choice Award. This was the most awards won at a ceremony since 2004, when rapper
Scribe also won six. At the
ARIA Music Awards of 2009, she won Breakthrough Artist – Album and Breakthrough Artist – Single for "My Delirium", and was nominated for Single of the Year for "My Delirium", Best Female Artist, Best Pop Release and Best Cover Art. ==Commercial performance==