Softcore was met with generally positive reviews. At
Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received a
weighted average score of 79, based on four reviews. DeAsia Paige for
Pitchfork wrote that "Fousheé confronts a catharsis filled with unyielding rage, sass, lust, and anguish" across the album's twelve tracks while stating that the punk songs are "bold and mesmerizing, almost imposing, and it often makes the album’s R&B songs feel obsolete". Paige stated that "Fousheé shows she can masterfully camouflage her inner turmoil with a false sense of tranquility" on
Softcore. She stated that
Softcore's "pure R&B tracks pale in comparison to its grand punk displays". Concluding her review, Paige stated that "Fousheé’s voice is liberating and her songwriting bleeds with emotion" and that she has proven "that it’s possible for pop-punk and R&B to exist in the same space". Writing for
Variety, Jem Aswad stated that
Softcore is "the kind of kaleidoscopic, multi-genred, disruptively creative album that makes you feel like the artist was hiding something, or at least holding back." Aswad continued, "it sounds chaotic and it is, but what makes Foushee truly different is her songcraft", noting that "here those talents are mostly in the service of treading the line between beauty and noise". He concluded his review as he wrote that the album "is a jarring blast of melody and chaos that adds up to one of the year’s best and most exciting albums." Writing for
The Telegraph, Thomas Hobb wrote that "
Softcore is such an unpredictable thrill ride" while stating that Fousheé "needs [to] build on all the experimental ideas and not let them fizzle out too quickly in pursuit of the next trip." Concluding his review, he stated that, "had some of these songs been given a little longer to breathe, it would have been even greater".
DIYs Elly Watson wrote that. the album "is the cathartic scream into the ether" to get rid of her insecurities. Watson wrote that it's "a fun and fiery record" is which "Fousheé excels when she pushes herself to her limits". ==Track listing==