At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, The Second Album received an average score of 63, based on 5 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[6]
Mike Powell of Rolling Stone gave the album 3 stars out of 5, saying, "Their second album isn't as radically unusual as its well-regarded predecessor, but the template remains the same: eclectic without getting wacky, thoughtful without getting preachy, full of great wordplay over beats that tie hip-hop to a history of all-purpose head-nod music from funk to electro and beyond."[10] Nate Patrin of Pitchfork gave the album a 4.8 out of 10, calling it "scattered and frantic."[9]