Stereo Review called the album "this decade's freshest-sounding blast of folk-rock neoclassicism."[12] The Lincoln Journal Star wrote that "this is a pure-pop band, one that cheerfully raids country, rock, r&b and psychedelia."[10] Werner Trieschmann, of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, considered the band one of the first of an inevitable wave of copies of the Wallflowers, writing that "this one won't be the worst, I can guarantee, but that's not an endorsement either."[13]
The Palm Beach Post deemed Honeydogs "a real rock band," writing that "no frills guitars combine with the gentle purr of a Wurlitzer or the drone of a fiddle for extra flavor."[14] The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel listed Seen a Ghost as the fifth best album of 1997, writing that it "sidles up to an easygoing collection of pop songs and country rockers all of them unassuming, irony-free and irresistible."[15] The St. Paul Pioneer Press opined: "Refusing to give up on the heartland strains that have fueled the group for so long, the Honeydogs are more secure in its abilities."[11]
AllMusic called the album "a charming collection of Beatlesque pop, demonstrating the group's knack for bright, catchy melodies and ringing guitars."[9]
