Midnight (Grace Potter album)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	68/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Billboard	[5]
Consequence	B−[6]
PopMatters	6/10[7]

Midnight received a score of 68 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on seven critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.[4] Magnet stated that the album "might confuse (and lose) fans who have somehow missed the memo that Potter is creatively restless, but it's a boldly rhythmic step in a wild new direction".[4] Michael Madden wrote that Potter explores a "broader range of sounds" on the "concise, hooky collection of songs", including "The Band-esque heartland stomp, vaguely twangy Southern rock, sensual new wave glide, and wiggly post-Pharrell funk". Madden also called it a "bold array, and the songs themselves are pretty bold, too, with multi-tracked choruses, erupting electric guitar riffs, and propulsive percussion".[6] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described it as "headfirst [dive] into pure pop" and "a gleaming confection that, at its best, could be mistaken for late-'80s AOR". He also felt that Potter and Valentine "delight in celebrating and inverting the clichés of overblown '80s AOR and that's what makes Midnight such a fun trip".[1]

Lee Zimmerman of PopMatters stated that is "clear that these songs serve mainly to project Potter's presence and define her essence as a prime blues belter pure and simple", despite the tracks being "simply serviceable although not quite strong enough to ensure a status that could be considered classic".[7] Kenneth Partridge, reviewing the album for Billboard, felt that Potter "blow[s] out her sound even more" although she "doesn't totally ditch her blues-rock ways: Amid synth-y disco dalliances ('Alive Tonight') and soul-funk workouts ('Your Girl'), she leaves room for snarling riffs on 'Look What We've Become' and acoustic boom on 'Empty Heart'".[5]

Boston Globe's Steve Morse dismissed the album as "a disaster" and wrote that Potter "throws away" her "great reputation as a soul-rock singer" on "a cheesy plunge into dance-pop that shows a crass haste to grab Top 40 radio play".[2] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called Potter's "version of liberation [...] an unexpected one" as she "has not only remade her sound, she's also moved herself farther from its center. She's a pop-rock eclectic now, pinballing among styles and letting her voice fill in the outlines rather than draw them". Caramanica felt "in a few places" the album is reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac's Tango in the Night (1987).[8]