At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, The False Alarms received an average score of 70% based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[1]
Zach Kelly of Pitchfork Media gave The False Alarms a 6.9 out of 10, saying: "Detours into coldwave and seance-y Scandi-pop still feel like an attempt to steer things in a new direction, but the songs fall prey to the same kind of directionless, inertia-deprived trappings that helped sink Fol Chen's previous records."[6] Heather Phares of AllMusic said, "these songs are somewhat less enigmatic than before: the melodies are ever so slightly more direct, even though intricate arrangements and hooks that sneak up on the listener are still what make this band distinctive."[2]