Write Me Back was met with generally positive reviews. At
Metacritic, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional critics, the album received an
average score of 73, based on 18 reviews. August Brown of the
Los Angeles Times dubbed it "the best grown-man dance record of the year" and stated, "the songwriting is, per usual at this point in his career, nimble and nicely matured. But the arrangements are the centerpiece here."
Jody Rosen of
Rolling Stone called its music "virtuoso
pastiche – but Kelly's Seventies are freakier than your dad's."
Maura Johnston of
The Village Voice viewed "Clipped Wings" as its strongest track and compared the album to
Love Letter, stating "it's slightly less drenched in retro tropes, but it's no less of an enjoyable listen."
Miles Marshall Lewis of
Spin felt that "the result distills the melodies and lyrical flair fans love without the
NC-17 lines that often make Kelly
NSFW." of the
Chicago Sun-Times complimented Kelly's "superb voice" and noted the Philadelphia soul influence as "a much more natural fit for Kelly's considerable vocal gifts and lusty one-track mind."
Allmusic's Andy Kellman complimented the music's "warmth and joy" and stated, "It's apparent that he can be retro and urbane as instinctively as he can be cutting edge and filthy." Nitsuh Abebe of
New York commended Kelly for "nailing each voice and narrative" and stated, "He comes at every idea like an impassioned pro, and whether that idea is making people melt, grind, or titter in disbelief, it’s usually his ardor that’s having that effect." In a mixed review, Jon Caramanica of
The New York Times dubbed the album Kelly's "least ambitious" and found it "tepid" by his standards, "which is to say, completely technically accomplished, but lacking the snakelike vocal slither and moist subject matter that mark him at his most virtuosic."
Slant Magazines Eric Henderson panned its music as "
this-porridge-is-just-right uptempo mush" and questioned its genuineness, writing that "even if the songs sound like the height of artifice ... there's little doubt [Kelly] believes in his own hollow offerings."
Pitchfork Media's Jess Harvell observed "a fine line between breezy and half-assed" in the songwriting and criticized its "cut-rate production choices" behind "Kelly's engaged vocal performances."
Greg Kot of the
Chicago Tribune called it "a less-consistently strong sequel" and stated, "Listeners may find themselves toggling between questioning Kelly’s sincerity and admiring his facility as a producer and singer."
Spin ranked
Write Me Back number 37 on their list of 2012's best albums. == Track listing ==