When released in 1981, the album's reception was positive.
Stereo Review described the recording as "crystalline" and the performance as "the twain meet", praising the album for its "remarkable" blend between "East and West", its "catchy tunes", its "ambitious collection of electronics" and for "pushing at the frontiers of
electronic rock", but noted that this affected the album's accessibility. In 2021,
Noah Yoo of
Pitchfork gave it a positive review. According to Yoo,
BGM "presented a startlingly prescient glimpse into electronic music’s future." He noted "
BGM hones in on the “
techno” aspect of the groundbreaking trio’s “
techno-pop,” channeling each member’s unique personality into a monument of electronic music history" which "is a foundation for all manner of “synthetic” music that would follow, from
synth-pop and
IDM to hip-hop and well beyond." He described "Rap Phenomena" as having "subtle echoes of its resonant
groove and
polyrhythmic vocal
sample manipulation everywhere" in modern electronic music, "Happy End" as "a progenitor of the
ambient techno that would emerge in the following decade from artists" such as
Carl Craig or
The Orb, "1000 Knives" and "Camouflage" as demonstrating the TR-808's "relentless mechanical hi-hats" and "crisp" claps later used in hip-hop and dance music for the next several decades, "Camouflage" and "U.T." as anticipating "the skittering drum programming" of
Aphex Twin, "Mass" as anticipating the "ominous drama" of
synthwave, and the
ambient "Loom" as having "a patiently ascending, two-minute-long
Shepard’s tone" that anticipated the
THX trademark
Deep Note. Malachi Lui of
Analog Planet also gave the album a positive review. He called it "the group’s most
experimental, forward-thinking work" to date. He noted opening track "Ballet" has an IDM-like electronic soundscape that combines "electronic drums, persistent hi-hats, and sustained synths" with a "melancholic emptiness." He also described "1000 Knives" as a "techno re-recording" that "lacks the 1978 original’s subtleties," praises "Cue" for its "exuberant synth-bass with beautifully cold" synth melodies, and described the "slow, sweeping electronics" of "Loom" as "predictive of Aphex Twin’s
Selected Ambient Works projects." He concluded "
BGM’s influence is evident in most current electronic music" 40 years later and that "
BGM, equally cutting edge as it is alluringly imperfect, will always sound like the past, present,
and future." Chuck Clenney of
UnderMain Magazine noted the album's significance in the early history of
hip hop, describing its "use of the 808 as an instrument, played with character and emotion" as "groundbreaking." He describes the 808-driven "Music Plans" as where "the beginnings of that funky, electronic boom-bap vibe of hip-hop beats start to emerge" and the similarly 808-driven "Rap Phenomena" as "an aural
Australopithecus of electronic rap music." Hip hop pioneer
Afrika Bambaataa cited the
BGM tracks "Music Plans", "Ballet" and "Cue" as influences. ==Track listing==