The critical response to My Maudlin Career was generally positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a favorable score of 80, based on 25 reviews.[3]
Music critic Tim Sendra of AllMusic called the album "almost an exact copy of their previous album" but added "Really, the group could go on remaking it for years to negligible complaints from their fans and very few diminishing returns."[4] Gareth Grundy of The Observer called the album more polished and poised than the band's previous work.[10] Kevin Liedel of Slant Magazine wrote "The result is not nearly as novel or dorkishly handsome as Country, but it still manages to exude addictive gorgeousness... Luckily, for both the album and its audience, the band's perseverance results in hits more often than misses."[14] In his review for Pitchfork, Brian Howe called the string arrangements out of control but praised the album, writing "it sounds more assertive and agile, with increased swing and soul, than ever before. There are still melodies of heart-wrenching simplicity that stick in your head to an almost irritating degree (beware of the dangerously catchy "James"), balanced by songs with longer, more complex and limber melodic phrases."[11]
The album reached number 32 on the UK Albums Chart after one week of sales. It also broke into the Billboard Top 100 in the US, peaking at number 87. In Scotland, the album reached number 37.
