Kevin Courtney of
Irish Times called the song "a quirky, bittersweet tune about love, loss and lies."
Tom Moon of
Knight-Ridder Newspapers called it "mercilessly catchy", writing that it "has become a rallying cry for jilted lovers everywhere." Sara Scribner of
Los Angeles Times opined that Persson "begs for lies" on an "almost criminally catchy" tune. Bryan Lark of
The Michigan Daily called it a "sugary sing-along". Thanos Lolis of
Miscellany News called it "three minutes of sparkly,
ABBAesque disco, very danceable and very capable of making a global hit." He also called it "catchy kitsch-in-sync". Pan-European magazine
Music & Media called it a "trademark Cardigans track", adding, "this energetic mid-tempo single suggests summertime follies and lazy craziness. The cheerful chorus hints at old time disco."
Music Week gave it a score of four out of five, writing, "Prepare for world domination by these Swedish popsters, whose first single [...] takes their candy pop style and injects it with a distinct Seventies disco feel."
Music Week editor Alan Jones added, "It's a quaint and quirky pop nugget with a smooth, caressing vocal and a sublime hook. It seems certain to earn the group their biggest hit yet." Mark Sutherland of
NME called it "dizzy disco". A reviewer from
People magazine called it "boppy". Jason Cohen of
Rolling Stone wrote that Persson's "airy lack of affectation actually deepens her dark, romantic sentiments when she chirps cheerily about her status as a willingly deceived doormat".
Charles Aaron of
Spin called it "lounge music so chilly with irony that you better bring a sweater, binky." Nick Mirov of
The Stanford Daily wrote that Persson was "sounding self-assured and confident" while "getting her own heart broken". Jaime Holguin of
Star-News called it a "kitschy pop gem" and "sticky sweet". Ian Hyland of
Sunday Mirror named it the "best pop song" of 1997. ==Retrospective response==